What is the actual meaning of 'o.k' and it's origion?

Answer 1

ok -> okay -> oll korrect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay

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 or not, it is now in everyday use among English speakers, and is popular among non-English speakers. Indeed it is reported by some sources to be the most widely recognized word in the world. Certainly there are few regions in the world where the term is not at least to some degree recognized.

Answer 3

There are ten or fifteen stories about where this came from. People who only hear one story think they know the truth, but when you've heard five or six stories you wonder if -any- of them are true. That's how it is with word etymologies, often they are speculative, but after they're repeated over and over they become accepted 'truth'.

One story is Andrew Jackson writing OK for 'Oll Korrekt' because he couldn't spell. Another has to do with pres. Martin Van Buren whose nickname was Old Kinderhook. Another is that the Orrins-Kendal biscuit company supplied rations to the Continental Army in the RevolutionarY War and stamped its barrels 'O.K.'. Another is that it was an Indian word, 'Okeh' which meant 'It is so.' (And years ago it was spelled 'Okeh'. In the 1910s and 1920s there was an Okey record company). There is even a story that in WWII the report 'OK' meant zero killed, which is a strange story since the initials used in the 1840s.

In the end I don't think anyone really knows. That's how it is with these things, especially in American English, sometimes you can't now for sure where they come from.

Answer 4

okay
abbrv O.K.

adjective
adj.
Agreeable; acceptable: Was everything OK with your stay?
Satisfactory; good: an OK fellow.
Not excellent and not poor; mediocre: made an OK presentation.
Uninjured; safe: The skier fell but was OK.

1. being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition; "an all-right movie"; "the passengers were shaken up but are all right"; "is everything all right?"; "everything's fine"; "things are okay"; "dinner and the movies had been fine"; "another minute I'd have been fine" [syn: all right]

adverb
1. in a satisfactory or adequate manner; "she'll do okay on her own"; "held up all right under pressure"; ('alright' is a nonstandard variant of 'all right')

noun
1. an endorsement; "they gave us the O.K. to go ahead" [syn: O.K.]

verb
1. give sanction to; "I approve of his educational policies" [syn: approve] [ant: disapprove]




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 5

ok came from the words 0 killed ,in the battles and wars when they had to report how many were lost ,it was a good thing that none were killed , zero killed ,0 k! so it was always a good thing when you lost none
why the heck is this question in the religion and spirituality section???!!!

Answer 6

theres differnt kinds--- this is for okay
i hear its french... doesnt it sound french?.... my french techer told me that in france after somebody checked small ships and boats for any problems, they would say ok when they were done and everything was alright...

this is for O.K.
but otherwise i think what everybody else said for O.K. oll korrect. what my dad told me anyway

Answer 7

supposedly, president andrew jackson was somewhat illiterate.
whenever he would sign papers, he would write OK at the bottom for Oll Korect. (All correct)

Dunno if this is true, but an illiterate president? definitely plausible.

Answer 8

I think it's short for "okey dokey" but I don't know where that term came from. I don't think it's from the bible, if that's why you asked that in this category.

Answer 9

It stands for "Oven Kleaner." It's a brand name.

Answer 10

I didn't have time to read it but you can if you want to.