Are you o.k.?

Question

Does o.k. stand for something? People say it a lot, just wondering if it stood for something...


And I'm just checking to see if your o.k.

Answer 1

I'm o.k. Some book I read years ago said so.

It was a reference popularized by the hometown of a former POTUS. Old Kinderhook was the hometown of Martin Van Buren, and was abbreviated O.K.



Looks like a legend. Here's the wiki citation.

"During Van Buren's presidential campaign of 1836 supporters popularized his nickname "Old Kinderhook," which was abbreviated as "OK." "OK Clubs" were set up. This has been argued as a possible origin of the expression "OK," although more plausible etymological explanations exist." Maybe the Greek girl above is correct, I don't know, but VanBuren is credited with popularizing it in the USA

Answer 2

O.K. Stands for Okay

Last time I checked, I was fine. Heart beating at a good rate.

Answer 3

yes it does i learned it in history but i just can't remember if you go to a history website or something you might be able to find it. but it does mean something it was just too long for them to keep writing out so they shortened it to OK

Answer 4

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. It could be one of the most widely used words on Earth, since it has spread from English to many other languages.

The historical record shows that "O.K." appeared as an abbreviation for oll korrect (a conscious misspelling of "all correct") in Boston newspapers in 1839, and was reinterpreted as "Old Kinderhook" in the 1840 United States presidential election. Because it is a recent word borne of word play, and because it is so widely used, "O.K." has also invited many folk etymologies. These competing theories are not supported by the historical written record, except in that folk and joke etymologies influenced the true history of the word. Since the 19th century, the word has 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.

According to languagemonitor.com, "O.K." is the Most Frequently Spoken Word on the Planet.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology: "Oll Korrect" and "Old Kinderhook"
2 Folk etymologies
3 Grammatical functions
4 Spelling style
5 Usage
6 See also
7 References
8 External links



[edit] Etymology: "Oll Korrect" and "Old Kinderhook"
Allen Walker Read conclusively documented the early history of the abbreviation "O.K.", now also spelled "okay", in a series of six articles in the journal American Speech in 1963 and 1964. He tracked the spread and evolution of the word in American newspapers and other written documents, and later its spread to ths rest of the world. He also documented controversy surrounding "O.K." and the history of its folk etymologies, both of which are intertwined with the history of the word itself.

The form "O.K." first became popular in Boston newspapers in 1839 as part of a broader fad of forming and employing acronyms, many of them barbarous. Other examples at the time included "G.T.T." for "gone to Texas" and "K.Y." for "know yuse". The general fad may have existed in spoken or informal written American English for a decade or more before its appearance in newspapers. "O.K." was intended as a misspelling of "all correct"; in the first few years it was often published with this gloss. (Note that gloss indicates the spread of a new word.) The gloss was sometimes varied with degraded spelling such as "Oll Korrect" or even "Ole Kurreck". Deliberate word play was associated with the acronym fad and was a yet broader contemporary American fad. In this first phase, "O.K." was spread with the acronym fad from Boston to other American cities.

The first recorded appearance in the first phase 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.
In a second phase, "O.K." was selected and boosted by the 1840 presidential election. Democratic supporters of candidate Martin Van Buren equated "Oll Korrect" with "Old Kinderhook", which was a nickname for van Buren. In response, Whig opponents attributed "O.K.", in the sense of "Oll Korrect", to Andrew Jackson's bad spelling. Thus, the election popularized both "O.K." and a folk etymology that the acronym came from Andrew Jackson.

"O.K." spread across the United States over the next two decades, and probably as far as Jamaica by 1848. The Civil War cemented its use, as much by confirming to American speakers that it was widely understood as by spreading it yet further. In the second half of the 19th century it spread to England and many other countries. In England it was first viewed as an improper Americanism, but it became widely accepted between the first and second World Wars.

Answer 5

Yes I am. I thought it stood for o kay
It means you are alright or fine.

Answer 6

OK stands for being fine, good I'm OK

Answer 7

All Korrect

Answer 8

As Ned Flanders would say, "I'm Okaly Dokaly!"

Answer 9

Olla Kalla (greek for all good),,,,,


and I am quite Olla Kalla. Good Vibes.

Peace,

Katz.

Answer 10

Well...I dont know what "okay" is...
It is on the other hand, a couple fourties and some bitches...or at least a drumset and some beer...then Im okay.

-Ryan