Kaleidoscope

« Quotes by Viktor Frankl | Main | Vision and Action - Thanks to Ayn Rand »

Origins of OK
2007/11/22,18:51

Okie, Okay, Wokay, Okie Dokie

There are these many variations of OK that I know of. Curious, I googled to find about the origins of this word OK.

 Here below are some interesting information found, thanks to http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwordorigins/ok

Some say it is derived from

* the Scots expression 'och aye', the Greek ola kala ('it is good'),

* the Choctaw Indian oke or okeh ('it is so'),

* the French aux Cayes ('from Cayes', a port in Haiti with a reputation for good rum)

*or au quai ('to the quay', as supposedly used by French-speaking dockers),

*or the initials of a railway freight agent called Obediah Kelly who is said to have written them on lading documents he had checked.

*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'.

*During the late 1830s there had been a brief but widespread craze in the US for humorous misspellings, and the form orl korrekt which was among them could explain the initials 'OK'.

*This term could have been originated among slaves of West African origin, and represents a word meaning 'all right, yes indeed' in various West African languages.

* None of the above is conclusive, in terms of evidence.

OK? :-)

comments

Add comment

 authimage
 
Accessible and Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS Powered by LifeType