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List of proposed etymologies of OK

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This is a list of etymologies proposed for the word OK or okay. The majority can be easily classified as false etymologies, or possibly folk etymologies. H. L. Mencken, in The American Language, lists serious candidates and "a few of the more picturesque or preposterous".[1] Allen Walker Read surveyed a variety of explanations in a 1964 article titled The Folklore of "O. K."[2] Eric Partridge described O.K. as "an evergreen of the correspondence column."[3]

Source language Source Context Date of first usage Proposer Date proposed Notes
English Initials of "oll korrect" Coined during a fad for comical misspellings and abbreviations by 1839 by 1839 See Okay: Oll korrect. Documented by Allen Walker Read in 1964,[4] and subsequently widely accepted by dictionaries[5] and etymologists.
Choctaw oke, okeh ("it is") Frontiersman trading with Choctaws borrowed the word directly or via Mobilian Jargon by 1812 William S. Wyman August 1885 See Okay: Choctaw okeh. The form is a verbal suffix "indeed, contrary to your supposition" with modern spelling -okii.[5] Wyman suggested Andrew Jackson had learnt "O.K." from Choctaw and introduced it in the East; others suggest an eighteenth-century origin.[2]
Wolof waw-kay (waw "yes" + emphatic -kay ) Introduced by West African slaves by 1815 David Dalby 1969 See Okay: Wolof waw-kay. First proposed in the Hans Wolff Memorial Lecture.[6] Dalby did not specify Wolof, suggesting also Mandinka o ke ("that's it", "certainly"; also "do it").[6] Liberian Charles Blooah had noted the similarity of Jabo affirmative O'-ke in 1937 without asserting any causality.[2]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Coined by humorist Josh Billings "1860s or 1870s" "Callisthenes" 1935 Proposed in an advertisement in The Times for Selfridges; "Mr. Selfridge" purportedly remembered having read Billings as a boy.[7]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Misspelling by Andrew Jackson c.1830 James Gordon Bennett, Sr. 30 March 1840 Bennett's story, a fabricated propaganda set "a few years ago", is the first attribution of "O.K." to Jackson,[2] although the quality of Jackson's spelling had already been debated during the 1828 presidential election.[8]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Misspelling by John Jacob Astor c.1800 Eliezer Edward 1881 [2]
English Misspelling of "O.R." for "Order Received" A common mistake in the Western U.S. owing to the similar shapes of the letters R and K. by 1790 Albigence Waldo Putnam 1859 The 1790 bill of sale "Andrew Jackson, Esq., proved a bill of sale from Hugh McGary to Gasper Mansker for a negro man, which was O.K." is cited in Putnam's History of Middle Tennessee; the assertion that the misspelling is common is added in James Parton's 1860 Life of Andrew Jackson. Woodford Heflin in 1939 established that the 1790 bill did in fact read "O.R." rather than "O.K." [2]
English Initials of "Old Kinderhook" Nickname for Martin Van Buren, from his birthplace in Kinderhook, New York; used as a slogan in the 1840 presidential election by 1840 editor of the New York New Era 27 May 1840 Reinterpreted by supporters of rival William Henry Harrison as "Out of Kash", "Orful Kalamity", etc. Allen Walker Read suggests this exploited and reinforced the pre-existing "oll korrect" sense.[9]
German Initials of ohne Korrektur ("without correction") c. 1900 Guido Carreras June 30, 1941 In Newsweek[2]
Russian Initials of Ochen Khorosho (Очень Хорошо; "Very Well") William Courson [citation needed] The word Khorosho begins with Kha (Х), not Ka (К)
English Initials of "O'Kelly" or "Obediah Kelly" An early railroad agent or engineer certifying bills or deliveries. by 1933 [2]
German Initials of "Otto Kaiser" An industrialist certifying his factory's produce for shipping by 1953 Reported in 1953 to be widely believed in Germany.[2]
Greek Initials of Ola Kala ( Ὅλα Καλά; "everything is fine") Used by Greek teachers marking students' work. Prominence of Greek shipping would allow it to be spread by sailors John Alfred Huybers 1913 In the editor's preface to When I was a boy in Greece, by George Demetrios.[2][10] Louise Pound supported the theory for a time.[2]
Greek och, och (ὤχ, ὤχ) A magical incantation against fleas c.920 W. Snow 26 October 1939 Occurs in the Geoponica, 13.15.9. Suggested in a letter to The Times[1][11]
French au quai(s) ("to the dock") Said of cotton bales accepted for export from New Orleans by 1803 by 1961 Martin R. Wall wrote in 1963 that he had been told this in France "several years ago".[2]
French au quai(s) ("on the quays") stencilled on Puerto Rican rum specially selected for export before 1953 A conflation of the au quai and Aux Cayes theories.[2]
French au quai(s) ("on the quays") In the American Revolutionary War, of French sailors making appointments with American girls 1780s "Beachcomber" 28 June 1940 In the Daily Express[1]
French Aux Cayes (Haitian port) source of the high-quality rum by 1905 [2]
German Initials of Ober Kommando (High Command) Used by Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, inspector general of the Continental Army the American Revolutionary War endorsing letters and orders 1780s 23 January 1938 German article reprinted in the Omaha Tribune.[1] Giving a similar story in a letter to The Times in 1939, Sir Anthony Palmer used the name "General Schliessen" and phrase Oberst Kommandant ("colonel in command")[1][2][12]
English Initials of "Open Key" A global telegraph signal meaning "ready to transmit" "1861 or 1862" By 1882[2] The telegraph was not invented till 1844.
Finnish oikea ("correct") July 1940 In Cleveland Public Library Main Library News Notes[1]
English Initials of Onslow and Kilbracken On bills reviewed by the Lord Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords (Onslow) and his counsel (Kilbracken) (after 1932) John Godley 1939 A jocular proposal by Kilbracken's son, then a student, in a letter to The Times in response to Sir Anthony Palmer's earlier letter.[1][13]
Latin Initials of Omnis Korrecta ("all correct") Used by early schoolmasters marking examination papers 1935 In a letter in The Vancouver Sun[2]
English Initials of "outer keel" Each timber in a wooden-hulled ship would be marked; "O.K. No 1" was the first timber to be laid John D. Forbes by 1936 [14]
English hoacky or horkey Name for the harvest festival in eastern England Wilfred White 7 March 1935 Suggested in an article in the Daily Telegraph.[2] The phrase "hocky cry" is attested from 1555.[15]
English Initials of Orrin Kendall Suppliers of high-quality biscuits to the Union War Department during the American Civil War. (after 1861) 16 December 1910 Article in the Chicago Record Herald.[2]
Old English hogfor ("seaworthy") Shortened to HG, then pronounced by Norwegian and Danish sailors as "hah gay". Frank Colby 21 March 1943 Colby reported the theory in his syndicated column "Take My Word For It", but did not endorse it.[1]
English Initials of 0K "Zero Killed" In military dispatches after a battle or combat mission in which no casualties had been suffered by 1990 Mentioned in a 1990 Italian dictionary,[16] and perhaps in a 1988 novel.[17]
Occitan oc ("yes") Introduced by colonists in French Louisiana F. R. H. McLellan 14 December 1953 In The Daily Telegraph[2]
Scots och aye ("ah, yes") Scottish immigrants "Barbarian" 15 October 1933 In a letter in The Observer[2]
Ulster Scots ough aye ("oh, yes") Brought by Scotch-Irish American immigrants "eighteenth [or] early nineteenth centuries" Mary Degges October 1975 A variant of the "och, aye" theory Degges heard in Belfast; the Ulster pronunciation is purportedly closer to "OK" that the Scottish equivalent.[18]
French O qu'oui ("ah, yes") Emphatic form of "yes" by 1768 William McDevitt[1] by 1945 Occurs in A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne.
English Initials of "Old Keokuk" The Sac chief signed treaties with these initials by 1830 by 1890 Appears in the Century Dictionary in 1890.[2]
French au courant Jocular F.J. Burstall 1882 Proposed in Notes and Queries[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mencken, Henry Louis (1963). "Chap. IV: The Period of Growth". The American Language (1st abridged ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 173–174. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Read, Allen Walker (February 1964). "The Folklore of "O. K."". American Speech. 39 (1). Duke University Press: 5–25.
  3. ^ Partridge, Eric (1984). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (8th ed.). p. 1373. ISBN 0-7100-9820-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Read, Allen Walker (February 1963). "The First Stage in the History of "O. K."". American Speech. 38 (1). Duke University Press: 5–27.
  5. ^ a b "OK, adj., int.1, n.2, and adv.". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd (draft) ed.). June 2008.
  6. ^ a b Cassidy, Frederic G. (Winter, 1981). "OK. Is It African?". American Speech. 56 (4 (W)). Duke University Press: 269–273. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Callisthenes" (March 30, 1935; Issue 47026). "The Origin Of "O.K."". The Times. p. 12; col A. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Read, Allen Walker (October 1963). "Could Andrew Jackson Spell?". American Speech. 38 (3). Duke University Press: 188–195.
  9. ^ Read, Allen Walker (May 1963). "The Second Stage in the History of "O. K."". American Speech. 38 (2). Duke University Press: 83–102.
  10. ^ Weber, Robert (April 1942). "A Greek O. K." American Speech. 17 (2, Part 1). Duke University Press: 127–128.
  11. ^ Snow, W. (October 26, 1939; Issue 48446). "Points from Letters — O.K.". The Times. p. 6; col. D. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Palmer, Sir Anthony (October 28, 1939; Issue 48448). "Points from Letters — O.K.". The Times. p. 4; col. C. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Godley, John (November 2, 1939; Issue 48452). "O.K.". The Times. p. 9; col F. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Mencken, Henry Louis (1947). "Chap. V: The Language Today". The American Language (4th ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 206–207.
  15. ^ "hockey1, hawkey, horkey". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.).
  16. ^ Frescaroli, Antonio (1990). Dizionario delle parole difficili nell'italiano attuale. De Vecchi. p. 170. ISBN 8841271027.
  17. ^ Glasscock, Sarah (1988). Anna Lmno. Random House. p. 278. ISBN 0394559304. Things'll be okay. Yeah...things'll be o-kay." He hugged Anna awkwardly. "OK—zero killed. You'll see.
  18. ^ Degges, Mary (1975). "The etymology of OK again: 2". American Speech. 50 (3/4): 334–335.
  19. ^ Burstall, F.J. (7 October 1882). "Replies: OK (6th S. vi. 147)". Notes and Queries. VI (145): 292.
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