List of proposed etymologies of OK

This is a list of etymologies proposed for the word OK or okay. The majority can be easily classified as false etymologies, or possibly folk etymologies. H. L. Mencken, in The American Language, lists serious candidates and "a few of the more picturesque or preposterous".[1] Allen Walker Read surveyed a variety of explanations in a 1964 article titled The Folklore of "O. K."[2] Eric Partridge described O.K. as "an evergreen of the correspondence column."[3]

Source language Source Context Date first used Proposer Date proposed Notes
English Initials of "oll korrect" Coined during a fad for comical misspellings and abbreviations by 1839 by 1839 Documented by Allen Walker Read in 1964,[4] and subsequently widely accepted by dictionaries[5] and etymologists.
English Initials of "Old Kinderhook" Nickname for Martin Van Buren, from his birthplace in Kinderhook, New York; used as a slogan in the 1840 presidential election by 1840 editor of the New York New Era 27 May 1840 Reinterpreted by supporters of rival William Henry Harrison as "Out of Kash", "Orful Kalamity", etc. Allen Walker Read suggests this exploited and reinforced the pre-existing "oll korrect" sense.[6]
Choctaw oke, okeh ("it is") Frontiersman trading with Choctaws borrowed the word directly or via Mobilian Jargon by 1812 William S. Wyman August 1885 The form is a verbal suffix "indeed, contrary to your supposition" with modern spelling -okii.[5] Wyman suggested Andrew Jackson had learnt "O.K." from Choctaw and introduced it in the East; others suggest an 18th-century origin.[7]
Choctaw si Hoka ('meaning "that's me" or "that's what I said"') Learned by Andrew Jackson from Pushmataha by 1812 William H. Murray 1931 Pushmataha was a Choctaw chief who fought under Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.[8]
Wolof waw-kay (waw "yes" + emphatic -kay) Introduced by West African slaves by 1815 David Dalby 1969 First proposed in the Hans Wolff Memorial Lecture.[9] Dalby did not specify Wolof, suggesting also Mandinka o ke ("that's it", "certainly"; also "do it").[9] Liberian Charles Blooah had noted the similarity of Jabo affirmative O'-ke in 1937 without asserting any causality.[10]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Coined by humorist Josh Billings 1860s or 1870s "Callisthenes" 1935 Proposed in an advertisement in The Times for Selfridges; "Mr. Selfridge" purportedly remembered having read Billings as a boy.[11]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Misspelling by Andrew Jackson c.1830 James Gordon Bennett, Sr. 30 March 1840 Bennett's story, a fabricated propaganda set "a few years ago", is the first attribution of "O.K." to Jackson,[10] although the quality of Jackson's spelling had already been debated during the 1828 presidential election.[12] Charles Godfrey Leland claimed in 1889 to have heard the Jackson-misspelling story in 1835.[13]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Misspelling by Thomas Daniels 15 September 1840 Daniels painted a banner reading "The people is Oll Korrect" displayed at a rally for William Henry Harrison in Urbana, Illinois. H. L. Mencken described this as "the story generally credited" as the origin until earlier uses were discovered in the 1930s.[14] Daniel Leffel, owner of the Sugar Grove tavern on the National Road outside Springfield, Ohio, erected a prominent "O.K." sign after reading about Daniels' banner.[15]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Misspelling by John Jacob Astor c.1800 Eliezer Edward 1881 [10]
English Initials of "oll korrect" Popularized by James Pyle based on Andrew Jackson usage 1862 New York Times obituary 1900 James Pyle, inventor of "Pyle's Pearline" purchased by Procter & Gamble in 1914 and renamed "Ivory Snow," placed an ad in the New York Times, October 23, 1862 which refers to James Pyle's O.K. Soap. The New York Times obituary of James Pyle dated January 21, 1900 says "Brought O.K. Into Popularity." The obituary states "He was the first to utilize in advertisements the letters OK in their business significance of all correct. He had the original use of these letters by Stonewall Jackson as an endorsement and was struck by their catchiness. By his extensive employment of them he probably did more than any other person to raise them to the dignity of a popular term and an established business institution."
English Misspelling of "O.R." for "Order Received" A common mistake in the Western U.S. owing to the similar shapes of the letters R and K. by 1790 Albigence Waldo Putnam 1859 The 1790 bill of sale "Andrew Jackson, Esq., proved a bill of sale from Hugh McGary to Gasper Mansker for a negro man, which was O.K." is cited in Putnam's History of Middle Tennessee; the assertion that the misspelling is common is added in James Parton's 1860 Life of Andrew Jackson. Woodford Heflin in 1939 established that the 1790 bill did in fact read "O.R." rather than "O.K." [16]
German Initials of ohne Korrektur (without correction) c. 1900 Guido Carreras June 30, 1941 In Newsweek.[17]
English Initials of "O'Kelly" or "Obediah Kelly" An early railroad agent or engineer certifying bills or deliveries. by 1933 [18]
German Initials of Otto Kaiser An industrialist certifying his factory's produce for shipping by 1953 Reported in 1953 to be widely believed in Germany.[19]
Greek Initials of Ὅλα Καλά (Ola Kala, "everything is fine") Used by Greek teachers marking students' work. Prominence of Greek shipping would allow it to be spread by sailors John Alfred Huybers 1913 In the editor's preface to When I was a boy in Greece, by George Demetrios.[20][21] Louise Pound supported the theory for a time.[22]
Greek Initials of Ὅλα Καλά (Ola Kala, "everything is well"). An abbreviation used by Greek immigrants in United States in the late 1800s, when sending telegrams to their relatives in Greece to keep the cost low. late 19th century
Greek och, och (ὤχ, ὤχ) A magical incantation against fleas c.920 W. Snow 26 October 1939 ὤχ, ὤχ occurs in the Geoponica, 13.15.9. Suggested in a letter to The Times.[1][23]
French au(x) quai(s) ("to the dock(s)") Said of cotton bales accepted for export from New Orleans by 1803 by 1961 Martin R. Wall wrote in 1963 that he had been told this in France "several years ago".[24]
French au(x) quai(s) ("on the quay(s)") stencilled on Puerto Rican rum specially selected for export before 1953 A conflation of the au quai and Aux Cayes theories.[24]
French au(x) quai(s) ("on the quay(s)") In the American Revolutionary War, of French sailors making appointments with American girls 1780s "Beachcomber" 28 June 1940 In the Daily Express.[1]
French Aux Cayes ("from Les Cayes, Haiti") Les Cayes is a port from which high-quality rum was exported by 1905 [25]
German Initials of Ober Kommando (High Command) Used by Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, inspector general of the Continental Army the American Revolutionary War endorsing letters and orders 1780s 23 January 1938 German article reprinted in the Omaha Tribune.[1][26] Giving a similar story in a letter to The Times in 1939, Sir Anthony Palmer used the name "General Schliessen" and phrase Oberst Kommandant ("colonel in command").[1][27][28]
English Initials of "Open Key" A global telegraph signal meaning "ready to transmit" "1861 or 1862" By 1882[29] The telegraph was not invented until 1844. A contemporary news report of the 1866 transatlantic telegraph cable says "The following telegram has been received from Mr. R. A. Glass, Managing Director of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Limited) :— 'O.K.,' (all correct)."[30]
Finnish oikea ("correct") July 1940 In Cleveland Public Library Main Library News Notes.[1]
English Initials of Onslow and Kilbracken On bills reviewed by the Lord Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords (Onslow) and his counsel (Kilbracken) (after 1932) John Godley 1939 A jocular proposal by Kilbracken's son, then a student, in a letter to The Times in response to Sir Anthony Palmer's earlier letter.[1][31]
Latin Initials of Omnis Korrecta ("all correct") Used by early schoolmasters marking examination papers 1935 In a letter in The Vancouver Sun.[32]
English Initials of "outer keel" Each timber in a wooden-hulled ship would be marked; "O.K. No 1" was the first timber to be laid John D. Forbes by 1936 [14]
English hoacky or horkey Name for the harvest festival in eastern England Wilfred White 7 March 1935 Suggested in an article in the Daily Telegraph.[33] The phrase "hocky cry" is attested from 1555.[34]
English Initials of Orrin Kendall (The letters OK were stamped on each biscuit) Suppliers of high-quality biscuits to the Union War Department during the American Civil War. (after 1861) 16 December 1910 Article in the Chicago Record Herald.[35]
Old English hogfor ("seaworthy") Shortened to HG, then pronounced by Norwegian and Danish sailors as hah gay. Frank Colby 21 March 1943 Colby reported the theory in his syndicated column "Take My Word For It", but did not endorse it.[1]
English Initials of 0K "Zero Killed" In military dispatches after a battle or combat mission in which no casualties had been suffered Leon Godchaux 2 March 1981 In a letter to Time.
English Initials of King's Observatory, Kew Stamped on timepieces and instruments certified by the Observatory 1878 Lorah Harris Graham[36] 1950 In fact, the stamp was "KO" rather than "OK",[37][38] although the actual symbol comprised an ornate "O" and "K" superimposed,[38] and it was described as "OK" in an 1884 almanac.[39]
Occitan oc ("yes") Introduced by colonists in French Louisiana F. R. H. McLellan 14 December 1953 In The Daily Telegraph.[40]
Scots och aye ("ah, yes") Scottish immigrants to North America "Barbarian" 15 October 1933 In a letter in The Observer.[41]
Ulster Scots och aye ("ah, yes") Brought by Scotch-Irish American immigrants "18th [or] early 19th" century Mary Degges October 1975 A variant of the "och, aye" theory Degges heard in Belfast; the Ulster pronunciation is purportedly closer to "OK" than the Scottish equivalent.[42]
French O qu'oui ("ah, yes") Emphatic form of "yes" by 1768 William McDevitt[1] by 1945 O qu'oui occurs in A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne.
English Initials of "Old Keokuk" The Sac chief signed treaties with these initials by 1830 by 1890 The theory was mentioned but not endorsed by the Century Dictionary in 1890.[43][44]
French Misspelled initials of au courant In a poem by "Hans Breitmann", semi-educated German immigrant created by humorist Charles Godfrey Leland by 1865 1868 Breitmann's poems appeared during the U.S. Civil War; the glossary to the 1868 British edition equates "O.K." with au courant.[45]
English Opposite of KO "knockout" by 1981 Cited by Allan Pease.[46]

References

Sources
  • Metcalf, Allan (9 November 2010). "Chapter 6: False Origins". OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word. Oxford University Press. pp. 80–95. ISBN 9780199752522.
  • Read, Allen Walker (February 1964). "The Folklore of "O. K."". American Speech. 39 (1): 5–25. doi:10.2307/453922. JSTOR 453922.

Citations
  1. Mencken, Henry Louis (1960) [1945]. "IV: The Period of Growth; 2. The expanding vocabulary". The American Language : Supplement I. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 269–279 : 275–276. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  2. Read February 1964
  3. Partridge, Eric (1984) [1937]. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (8th ed.). p. 1373. ISBN 978-0-7100-9820-7.
  4. Read, Allen Walker (February 1963). "The First Stage in the History of "O. K."". American Speech. 38 (1): 5–27. doi:10.2307/453580. JSTOR 453580.
  5. "OK, adj., int.1, n.2, and adv.". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd (draft) ed.). June 2008.
  6. Read, Allen Walker (May 1963). "The Second Stage in the History of "O. K."". American Speech. 38 (2): 83–102. doi:10.2307/453285. JSTOR 453285.
  7. Read February 1964 pp.14–17
  8. Murray, William Henry (1931). Pocahontas and Pushmataha: historical and biographical essays with personal sketches of other famous Indians, and notes on Oklahoma history (2nd ed.). Harlow. p. 30.; cited in Read February 1964 pp.15–16
  9. Cassidy, Frederic G. (Winter 1981). "OK. Is It African?". American Speech. 56 (4 (W)): 269–273. doi:10.2307/455123. JSTOR 455123.
  10. Read February 1964 p.13
  11. Callisthenes (March 30, 1935). "The Origin Of "O.K."". The Times (47026). p. 12; col A.
  12. Read, Allen Walker (October 1963). "Could Andrew Jackson Spell?". American Speech. 38 (3): 188–195. doi:10.2307/454098. JSTOR 454098.
  13. Leland, Charles G. (1889). "Breitmann in Politics". The Breitmann ballads. The Lotos Series (New ed.). London: Trübner. p. 137, fn†. OLID OL7148389M.
  14. Mencken, Henry Louis (1949) [1936]. "V: The Language Today; 4: Other parts of speech". The American Language (4th ed.). New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 205–207. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  15. Keifer, J. Warren (1904). "O. K." Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications. XIII: 350–354 : 352. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  16. Read February 1964 pp.9–11
  17. Read February 1964 p.20, fn.60
  18. Read February 1964 p.19
  19. Read February 1964 p.21
  20. Read February 1964 p.20, fn.79
  21. Weber, Robert (April 1942). "A Greek O. K.". American Speech. 17 (2, Part 1): 127–128. JSTOR 486460.
  22. Read February 1964 p.20
  23. Snow, W. (October 26, 1939). "Points from Letters — O.K.". The Times (48446). p. 6; col. D.
  24. Read February 1964 p.22
  25. Read February 1964 pp.17–18
  26. Read February 1964 p.21, fn.84
  27. Read February 1964 p.21, fn.85
  28. Palmer, Sir Anthony (October 28, 1939). "Points from Letters — O.K.". The Times (48448). p. 4; col. C.
  29. Read February 1964 p.14
  30. "The Atlantic Cable. First Direct Message". Saunders's News Letter. Dublin: British Newspaper Archive. 28 July 1866. p. 3.; cited in Achende (18 August 1866). "Queries with Answers; O. K." Notes & Queries. X (3rd series) (242): 128. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  31. Godley, John (November 2, 1939). "O.K.". The Times (48452). p. 9; col F.
  32. Read February 1964 p.20, fn.83
  33. Read February 1964 p.24, fn.100
  34. "hockey1, hawkey, horkey". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.).
  35. Read February 1964 pp.18–19
  36. Graham, Lorah Harris (1950). Inspirations: Radio Talks and Travel Sketches. Ringgold Bible Club. p. 29. The Observatory of Kew sets the time for the world. If one's watch is set by that it is marked "O.K." — has been passed by the Observatory Kew. Hence, anything that is correct is "O.K."
  37. Cloake, John. "6. The work of the Observatory for scientific purposes 1842–1980; [b] The Royal Society 1871–1899" (PDF). The King's Observatory: Historical Report. Retrieved 14 August 2015. The standardisation and verification work increased considerably in the 1870s and in 1877 the famous ’KO’ mark was agreed (to be introduced the following year) to brand instruments which had been tested and approved at the Kew Observatory.
  38. Walker, Malcolm (14 November 2011). History of the Meteorological Office. Cambridge University Press. p. 172, esp. fig.7.5. ISBN 9781139504485. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  39. The British Almanac (57th ed.). Stationers' Company. 1884. Companion, Part 1, p.17. All instruments so verified will leave Kew with a certificate, the Kew Observatory letters OK as a monogram, and a registered number.
  40. Read February 1964 p.23, fn.91
  41. Read February 1964 p.23 fn.98
  42. Greco, Frank A.; Degges, Mary (1975). "The etymology of OK again: 2". American Speech. 50 (3/4): 334–335. doi:10.2307/3088024. JSTOR 3088024.
  43. Read February 1964 p.17
  44. Whitney, William Dwight, ed. (1890). "O.K.". Century Dictionary. Vol. 4, Part 14. New York: Century. p. 4099.
  45. Leland, Charles Godfrey (1868). "Glossary". Hans Breitmann as a politician (English ed.). London: Trübner & co. p. 71. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  46. Pease, Allan (1988) [1981]. "A Framework for Understanding; The Ring or 'OK' Gesture". Body Language: How To Read Others Thoughts By Their Gestures. London: Sheldon Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-85969-406-3. There' are many different views about what the initials 'OK' stand for, some believing it stood for 'all correct' which may have been misspelled as 'oll korrect', while others say that it means the opposite of 'knock-out' that is, K.O.
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