rwl@uvacs.UUCP (09/28/84)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > In medieval Normandy, Monks concerned with loading boats > > at the docks would reassure their superiors when all of the > > materials were on the dock and ready to load, that is: > > "Au Quais". This expression (which sounds about the same as > > "okay") entered English via french-Creole speakers in > > New Orleans. > > According to my high school German teacher, the word OK comes from > the name of an inspector in a VW plant, Otto K???, who wrote his > initials on each car that passed inspection. Of course, I don't have > any definitive references either. I'm suprised that nobody's just gone to the dictionary for this. Mine at home (Webster's 7th Collegiate, I think) has this to say about 'OK'... OK, O.K. (...) adj., adv., interj. [orig. U.S. colloq.: first known use (March 23, 1839) by C.G. Greene, editor, in the Boston _Morning_Post_, as if abbrev. for "oll korrect", facetious misspelling of _all_correct_ (cf. _Am._Speech_, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1): popularized by use in name of Demo- cratic _O.K._ Club (1840), in allusion to _Old_Kinderhook_, native village of Martin Van Buren, whom the club supported for a 2d term ] Now. Since that's out of the way, everybody can get back to arguing. OK? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ray Lubinsky University of Virginia uucp: decvax!mcnc!ncsu!uvacs!rwl usmail: ...get serious, who mails anything these days? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gam@amdahl.UUCP (Gordon A. Moffett) (10/01/84)
> [From] Ray Lubinsky, University of Virginia > > I'm suprised that nobody's just gone to the dictionary for this. Mine > at home (Webster's 7th Collegiate, I think) has this to say about 'OK'... > > OK, O.K. (...) adj., adv., interj. [orig. U.S. colloq.: first > known use (March 23, 1839) by C.G. Greene, editor, in the > Boston _Morning_Post_, as if abbrev. for "oll korrect", > facetious misspelling of _all_correct_ (cf. _Am._Speech_, > Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1): popularized by use in name of Demo- > cratic _O.K._ Club (1840), in allusion to > _Old_Kinderhook_, native village of Martin Van Buren, whom > the club supported for a 2d term ] > > Now. Since that's out of the way, everybody can get back to arguing. OK? OK! I would just like to add some pertinent information from Stewart Berg Flexner, language guy, who says: ``OK'' started out as part of a humorous fad or game of abbreviating phrases in an outrageous way (sometimes humorously misspelled to add to the fun) among a few Boston and New York writers, journalists and wits in the summer of 1838.... He later confirms Webster's dating of first written use. -- Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,nsc}!amdahl!gam [ This does not necessarily reflect the opinions of my supervisor, my employer, its stockholders, their siblings et. al. ]
guy@rlgvax.UUCP (Guy Harris) (10/01/84)
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > In medieval Normandy, Monks concerned with loading boats > > > at the docks would reassure their superiors when all of the > > > materials were on the dock and ready to load, that is: > > > "Au Quais". This expression (which sounds about the same as > > > "okay") entered English via french-Creole speakers in > > > New Orleans. > > > > According to my high school German teacher, the word OK comes from > > the name of an inspector in a VW plant, Otto K???, who wrote his > > initials on each car that passed inspection. Of course, I don't have > > any definitive references either. > > I'm suprised that nobody's just gone to the dictionary for this. ... The first "explanation" (about the monks) was (as stated in the original article) a deliberately constructed false origin of "OK", done as an example of the sort of factoids given as word origins during a discussion of the origin of the word "f*ck". It's interesting how much discussion a red herring which never claimed to be anything but has kicked off... Guy Harris {seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy