What does "OK" mean?

Question

It is a very strange and frequently used word. How did this word start ?

Is it an abbreviation for something ?

Answer 1

all correct!!! perhaps from the facetious misspelling "oll korrekt"

Answer 2

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 okey dokey (or okey doke) is used, as well as A-ok.

Answer 3

There have been numerous attempts to explain the emergence of this curious colloquial expression, which seems to have swept into popular use in the US during the mid-19th century. Most of them are undoubtedly pure speculation. It does not seem at all likely, from the linguistic and historical evidence, that it derives from the Scots expression 'och aye', the Greek ola kala ('it is good'), the Choctaw Indian oke or okeh ('it is so'), the French aux Cayes ('from Cayes', a port in Haiti with a reputation for good rum) or au quai ('to the quay', as supposedly used by French-speaking dockers), or the initials of a railway freight agent called Obediah Kelly who is said to have written them on lading documents he had checked.

The oldest written references to 'OK' result from its adoption as a slogan by the Democratic party during the American Presidential election of 1840. Their candidate, President Martin Van Buren, was nicknamed 'Old Kinderhook' (after his birthplace in New York State), and his supporters formed the 'OK Club'.

This undoubtedly helped to popularize the term (though it did not get President Van Buren re-elected!). During the late 1830s there had been a brief but widespread craze in the US for humorous misspellings, and the form orl korrekt which was among them could explain the initials 'OK'. Such a theory has been supported by more than one distinguished American scholar, and is given in many dictionaries, including Oxford dictionaries.

The only other theory with at least a degree of plausibility is that the term originated among Black slaves of West African origin, and represents a word meaning 'all right, yes indeed' in various West African languages. Unfortunately, historical evidence enabling the origin of this expression to be finally and firmly established may be hard to unearth.

Answer 4

What a wonderful question. Religion is, of course, the form that one's worship takes. Thus there are thousands of forms. Religion includes a system of religious beliefs and practices. The object of the religion may be false gods or the true God. Hence, there is false religion and there is true. Religion can get very fancy or remain simple. In the former case, such as it is today. In the latter case, such as it was in the Garden of Eden. What then is worship to me? How do I worship? To worship means to obey. And to obey means to worship. The two are intimately connected; indeed, they are coterminous and cannot be separated. Specifically, to obey the Sovereign Lord God Jehovah of Armies is to worship Him. I do my imperfect best in this regard. I fall on my face and get back up to try and try again. In the Garden of Eden, so long as they obeyed Jehovah, Adam and Eve were worshiping him. No temple, no Mosaic Law, no meetings. Simply leave the tree of the knowledge of good and bad alone. Simple. The minute they disobeyed, they stopped worshiping Jehovah. Same with the nation of Israel. The minute they attempted to practice a syncretistic religion they stopped worshiping Jehovah. The minute they made the golden calf, they stopped. And on and on. To worship is to obey. To obey is to worship. Hannah J Paul

Answer 5

Okey Dokey

Answer 6

something like 'oll korrect' its a misspelling meaning all correct, ok is just an abbreviation of this

Answer 7

it is thought to of come from "all correct" which developed to okay, then ok ,, sometimes k
it means approval or assent, but often the meaning is in the context it is used,,
sometimes it just means "i hear you",

Answer 8

According to my friend in college "OK White", the OK in his name stood for Orland Kermit. True Story. Poor bastard.

Answer 9

It IS, indeed, - as you stated, - an ABBREVIATION! It is a reference to the Astronomical Observatory, at KEW, - the site of the "PRIME MERIDIAN", - from which ALL time, is SET!

"OK" stands for "OBSERVATORY KEW", - meaning, "ALL IS CORRECT!"

STRANGE, - but TRUE!

Answer 10

It's the abbreviation for Oklahoma

Answer 11

OK is short for okay, and it means that someone is in agreement.