Most common word in the world!

It was OK

Okeh.

no one know’s what that means.

Zero Killed. ( strange )

Thanks to our horrible speller, Andrew Jackson.
OK is used….. a lot.

if i knew how to spell, we’d be saying AC
also known as air condtioner.

isn’t that wonderful.

wow….did I really say ” if i knew how to spell ”
ooopsie
i meant if he knew how to spell.

<E

Hi Marina,

I had often suspected that the term ‘okay’ had perhaps originated from the Plains Indians (specifically, Lakota Sioux) oath spoken before or during batlle “Ho ke hey” or “Hoka hay,” which roughly translates to “This is a good day to die!” meaning “I’m fully prepared to sacrifice my life to protect my people, honor, etc.” If you say ‘hoka hay’ quickly several times in succession you’ll see why I thought maybe the word okay was derived from this phrase. Let’s face it; humans are inherently lazy when it comes to speaking extra syllables, especially aspirated ones.

Then I did some studying on it in my linguistics class.

There was no mention of anyone connecting the Native American phrase with the word okay in modern usage.

According to what I found during internet searches and dictionary readings, the term “Okay” may have originated in the city formerly known as New Amsterdam (now New York City) when the Dutch were in the process of turning the port over to the new American landlords sometime in the late 18th century. From what I understand, there were still a lot of Dutch harbor pilots and wharf managers there during the change-over, and the American newcomers had to work closely with them to learn how the harbor was run and where the safest deep channels were, etc. This took some time. Plus, the Dutch were very careful record-keepers so everything had to be documented at every stage of completion and signed off by some responsible party. Of course, the Americans working there didn’t like having to rely on the Dutch with their strange language and customs requiring scrupulous paperwork. So they poked fun at them by parodying them. They began to sign everything “OK.” Perhaps (and I am speculating here) it may have originally represented some harbormaster’s initials, or maybe it stood for some well-used Dutch phrase, or some other unknown reason. Bottom line: one of the surviving expressions from the era became defined as an acronym for “Oll Korrect,” indicating that (add irony) even though spelled incorrectly, the work or process had been accomplished according to plan and/or on schedule.

But I like the Andrew Jackson angle. He was such a mean mother…

Everyone knows that the French word for “yes” is “oui”. Except, in the south of France is an area called the “languedoc”. This name comes from “langue d’oc”, which means the “language of ‘oc’”. This area is so named because the word used for “yes” there is “oc”, and not “oui” as in the rest of the country. But it’s just a coincidence that it is so similar to “okay”, right?

I thought it comes from the initials of a senator’s name, who wanted to win the elections with the slogan “When O.K. is home, everything is all right” :shock:

Dear Marina,

To my knowledge the word comes from the Initials of a US President candidate (later a President); the dutchmen Martin van Buren who had the nickname “Old Kinderhook”.

Maybe this in combination with the Ol Korrekt (Al Correct) story.

Besito,

Julian

I’m on this thread a decade or so too late, but … what the hell …

I have a personal theory about “ok” …

I think it was orignally the scottish expression for an assertive “yes” .. i.e. “och, aye” .. as in “oh, aye” = “oh, yes”.

e.g. …
english speaker: “Do you want this barrel of beer?”
scots person: “Och, aye!!”
english speaker: “Did you say “O.K” .. does that mean “yes”?”
scots person: “Och, aye!!”

so, to non-scots persons “och, aye” sounds similar to O.K. .. maybe.

… just a thought.

What’s amazing.. is that even though it’s origin is uncertain… we still pronounce the word, paying respect to the fact that OK (modern form) comes from an abbreviation, that is O.K.

Chemikal

We don’t know the original form was an abbreviation .. we just know that when it was first written down it was assumed the verbal form was an abbreviation. (assuming it was a spoken form before it was a written form.)

plus .. i like that we’ll never really know the origin of this … to me it’s comforting that there are uncertainties and mysteries that will never be solved.

The theory I heard once, was that OK was a word written a hundred years ago for Greek immigrants in the Usa in telegraphs to say Ola Kala (=All Good) and soon that word became common in telegraphs in the country.
The funny thing is, if O stands for “All”, why we often say “Everything OK”? :mrgreen:

There is only one explanation. OK comes from the Greek ‘ola kala’ which means ‘all good’. Greek language exists far longer than English, so there is no doubt about it. :wink:

iv heard sth like this. that greek merchants wrote on the boxes OK, meaning ola kala (=everything good). and because of the fact that the greek merchant navy is the 1st (or 3rd) in the world sounds logical t be spread so widely

How could you even think anyone could hate the video, especially with you in it!!! :wink:

I’m OK, You’re OK….”Most common word in the world!” love :roll:

OK…Oh Kaye. Hello rhinopezguy and have a happy day. :lol:

Why are we still treating this like a controversy?

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/503/what-does-ok-stand-for

(For the record, Marina’s last explanation was half-right and half-wrong. The half-right part was half-incomplete.)

Very good…Bobbie Gentry – Niki Hoeky…A native American wrote this song….OK…is everything ok—’pennski7′?.FOR REDBONE FANS,THEIR VERSION OF NIKI HOEKY. BIG HIT IN THE U.S. FOR P.J.PROBY. ALSO RECORDED BY ARETHA FRANKLIN, BOBBY GENTRY, BURTON CUMMINGS,ETC…. :cool: ok!…the dutch between languages of roman{latin} and germanics…where are GREEKS…?

HI Leonard,

Thanks for asking. My best friend is dying. :sad: That’s why you don’t see much of me on the site these days. Better days, my friend.

-P9

thanks and I hope the best to(for) you… :cry:

I go to funeral today…very good friend had liver cancer

…I know another native that wrote some message such as…May the spirite ride…

I read that the term, “O.K.” is from the 8th President of the United Stated, Martin Van Buren. Martin Van Buren grew up in a city called Kinderhook and as Martin became an adult he agined a nickname, “Old Kinderhook”, based on the facts that he had become old and in recognition on where he grew up. When Martin became prrsident, instead of signing his full name to all of the documents, he substituted the first letter in “old” and the first letter in “kinderhook”. So, Martin would sign all the documents “O.K.”, and that is where the term OK came from.

I like this research, but really you look as cute as a baby in this video

William and Mary Morris, in the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (1977), mention the OK Club and give several other theories as well, including the off-the-wall idea that OK comes from “Aux Cayes,” a port in Haiti noted for its rum. They imply the matter is still shrouded in mystery. ….little boots {EARTHQUAKE] :cool: hOTfORwORDS is alright :lol: :lol: :smile: :grin: :grin:
Okeh (pronounced ‘okay’) was founded by Otto K. E. Heinemann (1877-1965), a German-American manager for the U.S. branch of German-owned Odeon Records. As World War I raged in Europe, Heinemann thought it best to have an American based company. He incorporated the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation in 1916, set up his own recording studio and gramophone record pressing plant in New York City, and introduced the company’s line of records for public sale in September 1918. Heinemann formed the name of the record label “Okeh”, from his initials; early disc labels rendered the name as OkeH. The first discs were vertical cut. In 1919 Okeh switched to the lateral cut method of sound recording, more usual for disc records. That same year the name of the label’s owning company was changed to the General Phonograph Corporation. The name on the labels was changed to OKeh. The common 10-inch discs retailed for 75 cents each; the 12-inch discs for $1.25.

thought this before http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okeh_Records

g00dkNite

OK. . .I’ll keep coming back for more!

:)

You have the blue enlightened eyes of Dune…

OK comes from the Greek “Ola Kala” – everything’s fine.
More greek words have filtered into the English language than from any other language, including the Latin words most of which were Greek in the first place.