I remember when I was a child there was an English professor getting his hair cut in my grandfather's barber shop who answered this question. However, all I remember is that it was the slang language of American cowboys; it was the answer the last cowboy would sound out when called to find out if he was "okay". It was the initials OK - what did they mean?
2006-12-28 01:07:54 · 6 answers · asked by themightynewsome 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
all correct
2006-12-28 02:09:19 · answer #1 · answered by sternchen 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Okay is a term of approval or assent, often written as OK, O.K., ok, okay, okee, okie, or more informally as simply kay, k or kk. Sometimes used with other words, as in "okey, dokey". 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 born 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.
2006-12-28 09:16:10 · answer #2 · answered by reccos 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
OK originates from the native amerindien language and is translated in English as "all right".
2006-12-28 19:28:13 · answer #3 · answered by Nicolette 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
well i learned that it comes from "all correct". long time ago, the americans liked to abbreviate words the way they sound- and all correct is oll korrekt - so they abbreviated it OK
2006-12-28 13:11:12 · answer #4 · answered by tine 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Originus Continuas(latin)= orginal containment. meaning the original context of the statement was fine. OK?
2006-12-28 09:14:53 · answer #5 · answered by Red Winged Bandit 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
oki doki,
it means good in a native american language.
2006-12-28 09:11:41 · answer #6 · answered by bayphoto3001 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋