just wondering(:
2007-12-25 06:16:28 · 11 answers · asked by steffiekprice 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
i know it means okay im not stupid i mean what does the o stand for and what does the k stand for.
2007-12-25 07:04:53 · update #1
The letters OK stand for "oll korrect." They're the result of a fad for comical abbreviations that flourished in the late 1830s and 1840s.
The abbreviation fad began in Boston in the summer of 1838 and spread to New York and New Orleans in 1839. The Boston newspapers began referring satirically to the local swells as OFM, "our first men," and used expressions like NG, "no go," GT, "gone to Texas," and SP, "small potatoes."
Many of the abbreviated expressions were exaggerated misspellings, a stock in trade of the humorists of the day. One predecessor of OK was OW, "oll wright," and there was also KY, "know yuse," KG, "know go," and NS, "nuff said."
Most of these acronyms enjoyed only a brief popularity. But OK was an exception, no doubt because it came in so handy. It first found its way into print in Boston in March of 1839 and soon became widespread among the hipper element.
2007-12-25 06:28:26 · answer #1 · answered by thype45 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I have a Therory acually it is my dad's alright back in the day when morse code and Telegraphs were used for long distance communitcations europe had one particular machine for sending and recieveing and the US had a different style of machine the europeans or US (im not sure which one) would send a message and it would end with "stop" then the symbols for O and K for "Open Key" which would tell the receiver of the message that the sender was ready for a reply.
It would kind of look like this:
MR BABINGTON SINCEREST REGRETS ON LOSEING RACE AROUND THE WORLD YOU OWE ME 100 BUCKS
GEN R H LEVY STOP OK
2007-12-25 15:26:53 · answer #2 · answered by heartsmile2004 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"O. K." isn't an abbreviation for "okay"; it's the other way around. "Okay" is a spelling out of "O. K." There's more than one explanation of the origins of the expression. thpe45's is one widely accepted one. Some attribute it more specifically to Andrew Jacskon, who supposedly couldn't spell any better. However, another explanation is that it comes from a similar-sounding word in a West African or native American language. This site covers it pretty thoroughly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.K.
2007-12-25 14:58:39 · answer #3 · answered by aida 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All correct. The origin (etymology) of the expression is obscure, but was re-inforced in the 1840's when President Martin van Buren ("old kinderhook") was in office. [Webster's]
2007-12-25 14:33:23 · answer #4 · answered by Thomas E 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For the meaning "okay" it's just that because when the letters are pronounced, it sounds exactly like "okay." They do not mean anything.
2007-12-25 15:54:03 · answer #5 · answered by William H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is an acronym for okay...which can mean approval or a state of being...as in she's doing okay.
2007-12-25 14:27:14 · answer #6 · answered by WhiteChocolate 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Old Kinderhook.
2007-12-25 15:47:12 · answer #7 · answered by Big Ben 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
O.K. is a acronym for the word okay.
2007-12-25 14:24:38 · answer #8 · answered by Taja B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One thought is it comes from martin Van Buren, who was called "Old Kinderhook" and he would initial off on paperwork as "OK"
2007-12-25 14:57:03 · answer #9 · answered by Experto Credo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Okay.
2007-12-25 14:24:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋