What is the derivation of the expression 'ok'? And is ok short for okay or okay long for ok?
Carol Rapley, Twickenham, England
- Roger Thomas is correct in that OK is short for oll korrect, but it is not of military origin. It started as a comical abbreviation during a fad in New England in the 1830s. Others were OW (oll wright), KY (know yuse, or no use), and NS ('nuff said). OK caught on permanently when political supporters of Martin Van Buren - whose nickname was Old Kinderhook - turned it into a pun and popularised it in his successful 1840 presidential campaign. After the origin of the phrase had puzzled people for years, Professor Allen Walker Read pulled off one of the great coups of etymology when he tracked this down in the 1960s. See his obituary in The Guardian, 8 November 2002, for more detail.
Bill Dunlap, Hamden, Connecticut, USA
- I heard that in the American Civil War when going back from fighting the soldiers would read on a large blackboard "0k" for zero killed.
Susan, Los Angeles, USA
- OK is NOT an acronym; it is an initialism. Acronyms are sets of initials that can be pronounced as if they were words (Nato, Unicef, Seato, snafu) and which have come into use.'UN' is not one, nor are USA, UK or EEC. To describe initialisms as acronyms is plain ignorance. The simple test is to try to say it as a 'word' rather than simply spelling it.
Anna, Huntly, NZ
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