SO what does OK STAND for?

Question

i know what it means, of course... but what does O.K actually stand for?

duh people i know it means okay... sigh... so what does that ACTUALLY mean

Answer 1

Actually, one of the most widely accepted origins for the work "OK" is this theory:

Andrew Jackson, one of the founders of the Democratic Party, and the seventh President of the United States, commonly signed bills with the letters "OK" (this is completely true). When asked about his usage of the two-letter acronym on bills, responded that OK stood for "oll korrect," a phonetic misspelling of "all correct." The likelihood of this story is supported by the fact that Andrew Jackson had a reputation as a good soldier and frontiersman, but not as of a scholar.

There is more to this, however. Allen Walker Read wrote six articles in the journal American Speech in 1963 and 1964 on the origins of the word. He dismissed the Choctaw origins as mythic folklore, emphasizing the possibility that "OK" arose as a cute abbreviation.

He believed the word to be short for any of several different spellings of "all correct", including "Oll Korrect", "Orl Korrect", and "Ole Kurreck". There was a fad in the 1830s and 1840s involving the intentional misspelling of common phrases, and referring to them by the resulting initials. These may have been influenced by the Low German phrase "Oll klor", which would have been spoken by emigrants from Northern Germany. The fad included many other briefly popular abbreviations such as OW, "oll wright" (all right) and KY, "know yuse" (no use), none of which has survived. The first recorded use of "OK" in this sense was in the Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, in the following passage (mostly probably written by editor Charles Gordon Greene):

The above is from the Providence Journal, the editor of which is a little too quick on the trigger, on this occasion. We said not a word about our deputation passing "through the city" of Providence.—We said our brethren were going to New York in the Richmond, and they did go, as per Post of Thursday. The "Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells", is one of the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via Providence, he of the Journal, and his train-band, would have his "contribution box," et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward.

Read discounts evidence of earlier popular origins of the word; for instance, a Boston businessman used it in a daily journal in 1815, but Read argued in context it does not seem to be used in the sense of "okay, good".

Some have claimed U.S. President Andrew Jackson invented OK as an abbreviation of "Oll Korrect"; it is possible that Jackson used the term, since it was in currency towards the end of his life. Jackson may also have known the similar Choctaw word

Answer 2

This is a direct quote from dictionary.com.

OK is a quintessentially American term that has spread from English to many other languages. Its origin was the subject of scholarly debate for many years until Allen Walker Read showed that OK is based on a joke of sorts. OK is first recorded in 1839 but was probably in circulation before that date. During the 1830s there was a humoristic fashion in Boston newspapers to reduce a phrase to initials and supply an explanation in parentheses. Sometimes the abbreviations were misspelled to add to the humor. OK was used in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren's 1840 campaign for reelection. Because he was born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and the abbreviation proved eminently suitable for political slogans. That same year, an editorial referring to the receipt of a pin with the slogan O.K. had this comment: “frightful letters... significant of the birth-place of Martin Van Buren, old Kinderhook, as also the rallying word of the Democracy of the late election, ‘all correct’.... Those who wear them should bear in mind that it will require their most strenuous exertions... to make all things O.K.”

Answer 3

WORD HISTORY OK is a quintessentially American term that has spread from English to many other languages. Its origin was the subject of scholarly debate for many years until Allen Walker Read showed that OK is based on a joke of sorts. OK is first recorded in 1839 but was probably in circulation before that date. During the 1830s there was a humoristic fashion in Boston newspapers to reduce a phrase to initials and supply an explanation in parentheses. Sometimes the abbreviations were misspelled to add to the humor. OK was used in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren’s 1840 campaign for reelection. Because he was born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and the abbreviation proved eminently suitable for political slogans. That same year, an editorial referring to the receipt of a pin with the slogan O.K. had this comment: “frightful letters … significant of the birth-place of Martin Van Buren, old Kinderhook, as also the rallying word of the Democracy of the late election, ‘all correct’ …. Those who wear them should bear in mind that it will require their most strenuous exertions … to make all things O.K.”

Answer 4

OK, here's your real answer!!!!!!!!


There are several theories about the origins of this word, some of them apocryphal and none of them conclusive, although the suggested origin as an initialism of oll korrect has relatively widespread support. Whatever its origin, the word spread around the world, the "okay" spelling of it first appearing in British writing in the 1860s. Spelled out in full in the 20th century, 'okay' has come to be in everyday use among English speakers, and borrowed by non-English speakers. Occasionally a humorous form okee dokee (or okey dokey) is used, as well as A-ok.

Or the abbreviation for Oklahoma

Answer 5

Back in the late 1800's, there was a Presedntial race involving WIlliam McKinley. He was from New York and called "Old Kinderhook."
His were the some of the first campaign butttons to be created. After an enormous marketing campaign for "Old Kinderhook," the name was shortened to "O. K." on the buttons- for cost effectiveness. The name stuck, he won, and everything was Okay after that!

Answer 6

It doesn't stand for anything. It means the same thing in almost every language. I do not know if the exact origins are even known, but the O.K. abbreviation is just shorthand for the word okay.

Not very rewarding, but that is the answer. Okay? :)

Answer 7

Oklahoma

Answer 8

Okalee Dokalee

Answer 9

I don't know, but out of the six languages I can speak, read, write, and understand, all of them use "ok." Quite impressive that whatever it stands for translates into two things that start with an "o" and a "k" in so many languages! :)

Answer 10

Martin Van Buren was born in Old Kinderhook, and there was an "O.K." club. It became a term during his presidential campaign.