Origin of the word okay or ok. etymology 2022-12-12

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The origin of the word "okay" or "OK" is a subject of debate and has several proposed theories. The most widely accepted theory is that "OK" is derived from the abbreviation "Oll Korrect," which was a humorous way of saying "all correct" in the 19th century.

According to this theory, the abbreviation "OK" was first used in the Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, in a story that was poking fun at the poor grammar and spelling of a local group called the "Anti-Bell Ringing Society." The story referred to the group as the "O.K. Club," implying that their efforts were "all correct."

Another theory suggests that "OK" originated from the Choctaw word "okeh," which means "it is so." This theory suggests that "OK" was used by Choctaw traders in the early 19th century as a way of indicating agreement or approval.

There are also theories that "OK" originated from the Scottish word "och" or the French word "aux cailles," which both mean "at the quail's egg." However, there is little evidence to support these theories.

Despite the uncertain origin of the word, "OK" has become a widely accepted and popular term that is used in many different languages around the world. Today, it is commonly used as a simple way to say that something is acceptable or satisfactory.

Origin of OK

origin of the word okay or ok

Club," and the name marks the first appearance of "O. We observe the names of several ladies among its officers. Read discovered that OK is a facetious misspelling for all correct oll korrect that appeared in Boston newspapers starting in 1839, part of a fad for such initialisms that had started the previous year. Or maybe you've assessed an article as The 1820s and 1830s shared another linguistic fad with today: an appreciation for deliberate misspellings. DESCENT ENGINE COMMAND OVERRIDE—OFF.

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The Origin of “Okay”

origin of the word okay or ok

Despite their simple spelling and pronunciation, okay and ok can be surprisingly complex in their usage, thanks in part to the fact that they cover nearly all parts of speech. I read an article on this this year. The story goes that General Jackson, better known in American history as Old Hickory, was not much at home in the art of spelling, and his friend and admirer, Major Jack Downing, found therefore no difficulty in convincing the readers of his "Letters" that the President employed the letters O. The papers weren't cramped for space, and they'd also print humor, poetry, fiction, and jabs at other newspapers. The latter solution is probable. The story that General Jackson used these letters to indorse official papers as correct seems to have been started by Seba Smith Major Downing , the humorist.

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OK vs. okay

origin of the word okay or ok

It was voted O. Why the astronauts added the to OK is not known. It seems likely that Astor used OK in the years following 1839, but he did not originate it. When the phrase initially appeared in English, it was in a Boston newspaper article, and was meant as a joke. The marks have the appearance of a small "o k" without periods, interlined at a blotted place in the manuscript; but they do not fit into the sense well and are out of tone with the other parts of the text. Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, March 2021, s. I mean, I realize that the word "OK" is not exactly a work of art, but it's one of American English's most universally successful cultural exports which is really saying something , and it seems like a really low blow to deny its Native origin.

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How the Word “OK” Was Invented 175 Years Ago

origin of the word okay or ok

Dallas Morning News Texas , 6 May, 1961, 1. At best, these are simply inventions by local folk in an effort to claim the right over one of the most used words in the English language. Boston News papers in the 1800s had a thing for purposely misspelling acronyms. OK reappeared in another Boston Morning Post article three days later, and it very slowly seeped into the American vernacular during 1839. But this language is more original, richer and less comprehensible, when those initials are given which might possibly, some how or other, be employed by people who spell "on their own hook. By the end of the year, it had showed up in the Boston Evening Transcript, New York Evening Tattler and the Philadelphia Gazette.


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The Bizarre Real Origins of the Word OK

origin of the word okay or ok

We owed the Sun man a julep, which we lost in a bet about five years ago, and he has been bothering us about it ever since. Harrison won the 1840 election, but so did OK. Well, that origin story should put that concern to rest! All things considered, we can consign the instances of 1565, 1757, 1790, and 1815 to the same limbo. Ward was not the only writer to adopt deliberate misspelling as a stylistic device. Thornton records it at 1828 and gives an anticipation likewise by Andrew Jackson at 1790: but on these two instances the O.

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Setting the record straight on “ok” vs. “okay”

origin of the word okay or ok

The story begins, then, in the Spring of 1840, and is closely bound up with the political situation in New York City. This was "The Democratic O. Then President Lincoln was murdered shortly thereafter by John Wilkes Booth. The first general dictionary to give O. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. Other jocular extensions of the initials follow in the same year.

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“OK” vs. “Okay”: Which Is Correct?

origin of the word okay or ok

But the term "hooker"was in use in England in the 1840s, long before the General became a household name. Abbreviations were not immune, and no go became K. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1882, 2705. And all correct became o. Wyman in 1885: General Jackson, as everybody knows, was prone to the use of downright and energetic methods of assertion. The corresponding verb was soon null-derived¹ from this initialism around 1882.


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etymology

origin of the word okay or ok

Is ok in all capital letters? We wonder to what extent they adhere to the principles of the society? He hailed from "Old Kinderhook", New York -- a reference to a section of land where children played or which had a rock formation that looked like a child's face. While the meaning and usage is generally the same, okey-doke can also be used as slang to mean nonsense, foolishness, or some sort of trick or deception. This last theory, it seems to me, deserves more investigation than it has got. He learned that while Gen. It was preceded by O. It was a hit at Jackson's supposed illiteracy, and at a party cry during the Presidential campaign of 1832 acquired great vogue. Since my parents and I all are LA natives, I may even have seen the sign.

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