What does OK actually mean?

Question

i think it was a word invented by the democratic party meaning all right PLEASE SHED SUM LIGHT

Answer 1

Not sure what you want to know - the definition or the origin.
Surely it can't be the definition - but, then again, you can't spell 'some'.

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.

Answer 3

Agreeable; acceptable: Was everything OK with your stay?
Satisfactory; good: an OK fellow.
Not excellent and not poor; mediocre: made an OK presentation.
In proper or satisfactory operational or working order: Is the battery OK?
Correct: That answer is OK.
Uninjured; safe: The skier fell but was OK.
Fairly healthy; well: Thanks to the medicine, the patient was OK.

[Origin: initials of a facetious folk phonetic spelling, e.g., oll or orl korrect representing all correct, first attested in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1839, then used in 1840 by Democrat partisans of Martin Van Buren during his election campaign, who allegedly named their organization, the O.K. Club, in allusion to the initials of Old Kinderhook, Van Buren's nickname, derived from his birthplace Kinderhook, New York]

Answer 4

The origins are really unclear, and theories abound. Personally, I favor the idea that it is an American version of a west-African word that sounds like "wo-kay" which means the same as OK does in English--an affirmative response. Because of the whole slavery thing, a lot of African words came into American English without their origins being acknowledged.

Answer 5

all right; proceeding normally; satisfactory or under control
correct, permissible, or acceptable; meeting standards
an approval, agreement, or endorsement


Origin: initials of a facetious folk phonetic spelling, e.g., oll or orl korrect representing all correct, first attested in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1839, then used in 1840 by Democrat partisans of Martin Van Buren during his election campaign, who allegedly named their organization, the O.K. Club, in allusion to the initials of Old Kinderhook, Van Buren's nickname, derived from his birthplace Kinderhook, New York

Answer 6

Is and adjective.
1. Agreeable; acceptable.
2. Satisfactory; good an OK fellow.
3. Not excellent and not poor; mediocre.
4. In proper or satisfactory operational or working order.
5. Correct.
6. Uninjured; safe.
7. Fairly healthy; well.

Answer 7

Origin is much debated, but probably derived from the O.K. Club established by partisans of Martin Van Buren in 1840. They allegedly named it it in allusion to "Old Kinderbook, the name of his birthplace Kinderbook, N.Y.
To put O.K. on a bill endorses its approval.
It means all right, or correct.

Answer 8

Okie Dokie

Answer 9

OK has many origins, one being that it stood for Oll Korrect, but also it referred to John Adams, and meant Old Kinderhook

Answer 10

It is a slang word - used by someone like yourself, who cannot spell (see SUM, should be SOME).
Hope this is O K with you.