Where it sits
Unusually for this list, the strange-sounding story is the documented one; the plausible-sounding rivals are the myths.
What it doesn't mean
Popular for a long time — Webster's and others listed it until as late as 1961 — but Etymonline says the theory lacks historical documentation. The 1839 Boston record is earlier and explains the spelling.
Half true. 'Old Kinderhook' arrived in 1840 and made the word famous, but O.K. was already in print in 1839 as 'oll korrect'.
These are among many alternative proposals Wikipedia lists. None has documentary evidence to match the Boston newspapers.
It sounds like a myth, but it's the documented one. Etymonline calls OK the only survivor of a slang fad for misspelled abbreviations.
What it really means
OK is the reverse of every other entry in this series. Here, the story that sounds made up is the true one, and the sensible-sounding explanations are the myths.
The myths. For much of the 20th century, the respectable answer was that OK came from Choctaw okeh, "it is so". Wikipedia notes that major American dictionaries, Webster's among them, listed it as the probable origin until as late as 1961, and in 1919 Woodrow Wilson spelled it "okeh" on the assumption that it was Choctaw (Etymonline). Other proposals include Scots och aye, Greek óla kalá ("all good") and several more. None of them has documentary evidence; Etymonline says the Choctaw theory lacks historical documentation.
What's actually known. The answer came from the linguist Allen Walker Read, who traced the word through old American newspapers, publishing six articles in American Speech in 1963–64. In the late 1830s, Boston papers had a fad for jokey abbreviations of deliberately misspelled phrases: N.C. for "nuff ced", K.Y. for "know yuse". On 23 March 1839, the Boston Morning Post printed "o.k. — all correct —", standing for "oll korrect". It is the earliest known use, and OK is the only one of those abbreviations to survive.
What saved it was politics. In the 1840 presidential election, supporters of Martin Van Buren, born in Kinderhook, New York and nicknamed "Old Kinderhook", formed the O.K. Club. The slogan spread the abbreviation nationally just when it might have faded.
So OK is that rarest thing: a word that really did begin as initials, decades before acronyms became common.
Where it comes from
- Late 1830s
A Boston newspaper fad for jokey abbreviations of misspelled phrases — N.C. for 'nuff ced', K.Y. for 'know yuse' (Etymonline; Wikipedia dates the Boston fad to 1838).
- 23 March 1839
The Boston Morning Post prints 'o.k. — all correct —', the earliest known use, identified by Allen Walker Read.
- 1840
Supporters of President Martin Van Buren, 'Old Kinderhook', form the O.K. Club during his re-election campaign; the word goes national.
- 1919
Woodrow Wilson writes 'okeh', on the assumption it came from Choctaw (Etymonline: a theory lacking historical documentation).
- 1963–64
Read publishes six articles in American Speech tracing the word's history — the account most reference works now follow.
In real life
- "Is that OK?" she asked, and he nodded, mouth full of toast.
- The film was OK — not great, not terrible, just fine for a rainy Sunday.
- The manager OK'd the overtime, and the team finished the job by Friday.
Questions
Q01Where does OK come from?
From Boston, 1839. Newspapers there had a fad for jokey abbreviations of misspelled phrases, and O.K. stood for 'oll korrect' — 'all correct'. The earliest known use is in the Boston Morning Post of 23 March 1839, found by the linguist Allen Walker Read.
Q02What does OK stand for?
'Oll korrect', a deliberate misspelling of 'all correct'. In 1840 it was also used as a slogan for 'Old Kinderhook', President Martin Van Buren's nickname, which helped spread it across the United States.
Q03Is OK from the Choctaw word 'okeh'?
Probably not. The theory was once common in dictionaries, and Woodrow Wilson wrote 'okeh' because of it, but Etymonline says it lacks historical documentation.
Q04Is it OK or okay?
Both are standard. Etymonline notes the spelled-out 'okay' appears in 1929.