Why do we say OK? Image: Pixabay, Copyright free.
OK, Here's The Answer To Why We Use OK.
OK/O.K./Okay dates back to the 1830s. Surprised that it wasn't a recent addition to the English language? The widely accepted and etymologist approved tale about OK's origins takes us to Boston, America.
Apparently, it was a hugely hilarious thing to misspell and abbreviate words at that time (no T.V. or radio so I guess they had to make their own entertainment) and some Bostonians couldn't resist the urge to utilise "oll korrect" from "all correct". It was inevitably shortened to OK.
The newspaper editor Charles Gordon Greene picked up on this fad and on the 23rd March 1839 his paper, the Boston Morning Post published the term in an article about a rival publication's practices. Soon "oll korrect and OK" were being said by the masses and OK appeared on documents to note their correctness.
Any initial resistance to using OK as a sign of being ill-educated and unable to spell well ebbed away, although even now it's rare to find OK in a formal document, speech or a high level discussion.
U.S. President Martin Van Buren: Vote For OK
In 1840, Martin Van Buren, the Democrat President of the U.S. repurposed OK to suit his campaign to remain in office for another term. Van Buren was born in Old Kinderhook, New York and he used OK as his nickname. He urged people to vote for OK. His supporters opened OK or Old Kinderhook clubs to show their loyalty to him.
Rival candidate William Henry Harrison, who eventually won the race to the White House, had his own versions of OK to taunt van Buren with including "Orful Kalamity". Poor Harrison's inauguration was held on 4th March 1841. He suffered his own "orful kalamity" when he died of pneumonia on the 4th April 1841. He remains the country's shortest serving President.
Happily for OK, the major languages of the world all have an O and a K in their alphabets so OK travelled around the globe and grew ever more popular. Who doesn't know OK?
Ohne Korrectur? Oberst Kommandant? Och Aye?
According to Newsweek, another development came in the early 20th century when the printing and publishing trades used OK as a way to convey that a manuscript page needed no amendments. OK in this instance originated from the German phrase "ohne korrectur" meaning "no changes" or corrections required.
Another German term for a military supreme commander, Oberst Kommandant was once believed to have been the origin of OK but this theory has been dismissed as readily as "Och Aye" from the Scottish for "oh yes."
So, a popular abbreviation and misspelling trend that gave us other terms that have long since faded into obscurity like SP for small potatoes led to a more than OK revolution in communication. OK is almost 200 years old and it's here to stay.
How many times have you said or written OK today?
If you enjoyed reading this, try these posts:
https://www.historyfacts.co.uk/2025/02/words-of-greek-origin-how-greek-words.html
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12503686
https://www.historyhit.com/amazing-historical-facts-figures-and-fascinating-finds/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-one-man-discovered-the-obscure-origins-of-the-word-ok-180953258/#:~:text=Read%20discovered%20that%20OK%20first,Providence%20Journal%2C%20a%20rival%20newspaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment.