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word origin
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how did the word "ok" originate?
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Goodness, there has been some speculation over this ! From memory,some years ago people from the Oxford Dictionary went into the matter. The conclusion was that there had been a fad in the C19 fad for 'comically' misspelling words and OK was short for Orl Korrect ! The other favoured origin was that Martin van Buren a C19 US President was known as Old Kinderhook, hence OK. These two ideas come together. You can see how 'OK for President !' with the man's picture, for example , would make a punning slogan, combining the two, and there's evidence that he used OK in his campaign literature and a name for his campaign headquarters.
On its own the Old Kinderhook theory, though the dates of first usage of OK fit, doesn't make perfect sense without the other. After all, we wouldn't have used, say, JFK as meaning 'perfect' or 'just right' No politician's name would be synonymous with happiness or being 'just so' ! But one politician using a popular fad does, and here this one found a happy coincidence.
On its own the Old Kinderhook theory, though the dates of first usage of OK fit, doesn't make perfect sense without the other. After all, we wouldn't have used, say, JFK as meaning 'perfect' or 'just right' No politician's name would be synonymous with happiness or being 'just so' ! But one politician using a popular fad does, and here this one found a happy coincidence.
To expand a little on Fred's response...
In 1830s Boston, there was a craze for initialisms, much the same as our current ‘LOLs', ‘CUL8Rs' and ‘IMHOs' in text messages. Thus, they had ‘KG' for ‘Know Good' (no good) and ‘SP' for ‘small potatoes' (unimportant), for example. ‘OK' for ‘Orl Korrekt' (all correct) appeared in the ‘Boston Morning Post' newspaper in 1839. This is the earliest-recorded version of the new ‘word' and the one Fred mentioned.
The next year, the Democrats started the ‘OK Club' to support Martin Van Buren, who was standing in the 1840 presidential election. "OK" in this case stood for "Old Kinderhook", which was his nickname, as he'd been born at Kinderhook in New York State. As a result of these two factors, 'OK' and, later, ‘Okay' became widely popular and are still with us today.
Alternative explanations are sometimes offered - including over a dozen listed below - but there is not a shred of hard evidence to support any of them. They fall under two main headings...language-based and people-based.
A. Language. 1. Scots ‘Och aye' misheard as ‘OK'; 2. Greek ‘olla kalla' (all good); 3. Finnish ‘oikea' (exact); 4. French ‘au quai' (at the quay); 5.French ‘oc' (the equivalent of ‘oui' in the langue d'oc French dialect); 6. Mandingo (African) ‘o ke' (certainly); 7 Wolof (African) ‘waw kay' (yes indeed); 8. Zero killed (battle report).
B. People. 1. ‘Old Keokuk' (an Indian chief); 2. ‘Oberst Kommandant' (General Schliessen who fought against British forces in the War of Independence); 3. Obadiah Kelly (well-known freight agent); 4. ‘Open Key' (telegraphists' jargon); 5. ‘Ole Korrek' (President Jackson's supposed mis-spelling).
In the end, the ‘orl korrekt' explanation is the only one that can be reliably con
In 1830s Boston, there was a craze for initialisms, much the same as our current ‘LOLs', ‘CUL8Rs' and ‘IMHOs' in text messages. Thus, they had ‘KG' for ‘Know Good' (no good) and ‘SP' for ‘small potatoes' (unimportant), for example. ‘OK' for ‘Orl Korrekt' (all correct) appeared in the ‘Boston Morning Post' newspaper in 1839. This is the earliest-recorded version of the new ‘word' and the one Fred mentioned.
The next year, the Democrats started the ‘OK Club' to support Martin Van Buren, who was standing in the 1840 presidential election. "OK" in this case stood for "Old Kinderhook", which was his nickname, as he'd been born at Kinderhook in New York State. As a result of these two factors, 'OK' and, later, ‘Okay' became widely popular and are still with us today.
Alternative explanations are sometimes offered - including over a dozen listed below - but there is not a shred of hard evidence to support any of them. They fall under two main headings...language-based and people-based.
A. Language. 1. Scots ‘Och aye' misheard as ‘OK'; 2. Greek ‘olla kalla' (all good); 3. Finnish ‘oikea' (exact); 4. French ‘au quai' (at the quay); 5.French ‘oc' (the equivalent of ‘oui' in the langue d'oc French dialect); 6. Mandingo (African) ‘o ke' (certainly); 7 Wolof (African) ‘waw kay' (yes indeed); 8. Zero killed (battle report).
B. People. 1. ‘Old Keokuk' (an Indian chief); 2. ‘Oberst Kommandant' (General Schliessen who fought against British forces in the War of Independence); 3. Obadiah Kelly (well-known freight agent); 4. ‘Open Key' (telegraphists' jargon); 5. ‘Ole Korrek' (President Jackson's supposed mis-spelling).
In the end, the ‘orl korrekt' explanation is the only one that can be reliably con
Bill Bryson goes into this in detail in his book Mother Tongue and comes to the same conclusion as Quizmonster and fredpuli - though he reckons it's the likeliest solution, but still not absolutely proven.
He points out that Van Buren lost the election. The winner, Harrison, had as HIS slogan 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too', which hasn't lasted as well.
He points out that Van Buren lost the election. The winner, Harrison, had as HIS slogan 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too', which hasn't lasted as well.
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