Thread: Ok

What is the origin of the word "okay"? I heard it was George Washington Carver's abbreviation for his misspelling, "Oll Korrect".

I believe this is where it has first been documented. I don't believe anyone truly knows where it came from though....

Hi!
This is what I found in the Web.

"The oldest written references to 'OK' result from its adoption as a slogan by the Democratic party during the American Presidential election of 1840. Their candidate, President Martin Van Buren, was nicknamed 'Old Kinderhook' (after his birthplace in New York State), and his supporters formed the 'OK Club'."

I hope this helps!

that´s interesting, thanks Sabrina!

i have also heard that O.K originated during WWII, stands for "0 Kills"...anyone else heard of that?

I decided to look this up and I read that the most credible story is the boston newspaper story, allthough there are many:

"What is known is that one of the first instances of OK appearing in print was in the spring of 1839 by the Boston Morning Post:

It is hardly necessary to say to those who know Mr. Hughes, that his establishment will be found to be 'A. No. One' -- that is, O.K. -- all correct.

So if OK stands for "all correct," wouldn't it be "AC"? Not exactly, says linguist Erin McKean, who points out that the word was intentionally misspelled. Much like the way people on the Internet shorten or abbreviate words when typing, OK was misspelled on purpose.

It was cool in certain East Coast cities in the mid-19th century to substitute OK for "all correct." McKean says it was common for people of that day to use inside lingo -- shorthand full of puns, purposeful misspellings and abbreviations. For example, they'd use "SP" for "small potatoes," or "TBFTB" for "too big for their britches."

Who knew!

I´ll try to look it up in some stuff I have (or had?) explaining it well...

http://etimologias.dechile.net/?OK
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK
http://www.planetacurioso.com/2006/08/08/%C2%BFde-donde-proviene-la-palabra-ok/

Thanks analaura! ill take a look at that now,.