Where does the term 'OK' come from?

Answer 1

It's short for Okay (obviously), and there's a whole essay on possible origins at wikipedia:

The most likely one to me sounds like this one:

Greek Language

"O.K." is the abbreviation (spelled correctly) of the Greek expression, Ola Kala (Ολα Καλά, ΟΚ) It is a standard expression in Greece that simply means: "Everything's fine". Some teachers still use it to mark good school papers.

The abbreviation "OK" was informally used to communicate the "All's well!" (with light or other means) with shore or other ships. Also, for the Captain of a ship, hearing the Ola Kala was a quick way to take stock of a situation. OK did not however signify acquiescence to a command, as in: -"Do this!" -"OK!" The expression En Taxe, meaning "in order" would have been used in that case.

OK was also marked on shipping crates after inspection to signify that everything in them was all right. It is possible that port communities worldwide came in contact with "O.K." thusly. Throughout history, the Greek presence on the seas has been disproportionately large compared to the size of the country. The current (2006) Greek merchant fleet, for example, is larger than both US and Japanese fleets combined.

Answer 2

[Abbreviation of oll korrect, slang respelling of all correct.]
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 3

O.K." is the abbreviation (spelled correctly) of the Greek expression, Ola Kala (Ολα Καλά, ΟΚ) It is a standard expression in Greece that simply means: "Everything's fine". Some teachers still use it to mark good school papers.
Okay is a term of approval or assent, often written as OK, O.K., ok, okay, okee, or more informally as simply kay, k or kk. When used to describe the quality of a thing, it denotes acceptability. However, its usage can also be strongly approving; as with most slang, its usage is determined by context.

The word "okay" is currently the single-most-used word on Earth, owing to its common employment in a vast number of cultures and languages.[citation needed]

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.
"Oll Korrekt"
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.FOR MORE INF GO TO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay

Answer 4

Such a short word and the source of so much dispute. It is possibly the phrase with more alternative suggested derivations than any other.

The contenders include:

Terms from various languages that sound similar to 'okay' in English. For example:

from the Scots - 'och aye' (yes, indeed)
from Choctaw-Chickasaw, 'okah' (it is indeed)
from Greek, 'ola kala' ( everything is well)
from Finnish, 'oikea' (correct, exact)
from Mandingo, 'O ke', (certainly)


A shortened version of 'Oll Korrect', used by President Andrew Jackson when initialing papers
'Old Kinderhook' - nickname of President Martin van Buren.
'Aux quais' - the mark put on bales of cotton in Mississippi river ports.
'0 killed' - the report of the night's death toll during the First World War.
'Orl Korrect' - military reporting indicating troops were in good order.
etc, etc.

Answer 5

This question has been asked about three times in three weeks.
Greek sailors and Greeks in the US used to say Ολα καλα (everything is good) when asked how things were. This Greek phrase, which was not understood, became OK

Answer 6

During the war in Vietnam, the companies would put signs that said 0 K, to let the brigades know that their company had 0 Casualties during the nightly inspection.

Answer 7

I think I'll go with the Greek theory, they have given us so many other words....so why not "OK "? It makes perfect sense to me. I don't think it originated in America somehow ( sorry ) ...

Answer 8

It may have comes from Oki Kiki.

Or maybe Ohlala Koa

Answer 9

All Correct (perhaps a humourous spelling of this; or Choctaw okeh, so be it).

Answer 10

Initial letters of all korrect