Ask Mike: The story of OK
Hey Guys,
One of the most popular questions on Yahoo! Answers is also one of the simplest: Where does the phrase “OK” come from? There are a slew of sites dedicated to the origin of this all-purpose term. Here, everything you need to know about the phrase few of us could live without.
According to legend, the term “OK” got its start as a campaign slogan for President Martin Van Buren. Nicknamed “Old Kinderhook” for his place of birth in New York, Van Buren unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 1840. His supporters were known as the “OK Club.” In the many years since, some have credited Van Buren (or his campaign team) with coming up with the phrase. But, with apologies to Old Kinderhook, that isn’t exactly true.
According to The Straight Dope, the phrase got its start decades earlier. Originally, “OK” stood for “Oll Korrect.” As Ask Yahoo! put it, “The phrase comes from a curious fad for ‘comical abbreviations’ that swept the country in the 1830s and 1840s.” Van Buren and his team certainly helped to make the phrase popular, but it was already in the lexicon before his campaign.
And while the phrase is only two letters, its popularity can’t be overestimated. According to Word Origins, the term is the most popular American phrase of all time. By the early 20th century, it was being spoken by people all around the world.
In the years since, the phrase has been extended (and shortened) in all sorts of bizarre ways. From the text message friendly “K” to the Ned Flanders version, “Okily-dokily.”
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Thanks for the article…
Thank you for such praiseworthy presentation. I appreciate the depth of your knowledge but humbly venture to put forward that OK has deep relation with ‘short hand ‘ writing both in Pitman and Longman system.In shorthand as ‘All’ is pronounced as ‘Oll’ ,the stenographer will pen ‘A’ as ‘O’.
Same with ‘Correct’; the first letter “C” will be taken as “K” because of its pronunciation as “K”,
With thanks.
I think the phrase “ok” comes from the english war that they won and because of their good armor and weapons only a few (about 10) english men got killed so they started saying “OK” from what means “0 killed”
thats all I know.
Okie dokie :]
I never knew that, I always thought it was something that simply appeared like off a space ship one day without any rhyme or reason
http://hubpages.com/hub/How_To_Tell_If_Someone_Is_Lying
Actually, the story I heard is that “OK” had three (3) separate origins. One is an american indian greeting, with arm extended, “okeh.” The second is “oll korrect” (as a jest), and the third is van buren’s political slogan (old kinderhook). The third is the one that made it a universal phrase all over. Including the famous “GUNFIGHT at the OK corral” (all the stores used that phrase). The way “cut-rate” was used a generation ago. But WWII made it worldwide (along with coca-cola).
Wow that really upset me learning that. I grew up about 10 minutes from Old Kinderhook and I was always told the story of how the now globally used term originated right around the corner. I felt it put us on the map. Darn.
At old times greek people wrote on the ships O.K. if everything was put in the ship. O.K. comes from the phrase Ολα Καλα which in english means Everything’s Fine
Another explaination I’ve heard is that OK is an abreviation of the Greek phrase “Ola Kala” which means “everything is fine”
The term “OK” actually came from a Native American word “okeh” which is a Choctaw Indian word, which means basically the same thing. It first appeared in common usage in the U.S. in 1830s and 1840s as American frontiersmen moved west and had increasing contact with the natives. The word “okeh” appears with increasing frequency in American newspapers of that period and was gradually shortened to the “O.K.” that we know today. You can research this and look it up, including the Choctaw Indian word “okeh”, if you don’t believe me. It has it’s origins in Native American language.
I always thought it was because people were too lazy to add the “a” and “y”. Or it just looked “cooler” in texts and stuff.
All I know for sure is that I cannot stand it when written in stories. : /
-XxX Thank You for the in-depth information though! It was rather interesting.
wasn’t it in vogue circa 1700?Lincoln or Lee could have been among the first people to use it .
I have heard the argument that in the early days of ship building, plans were drawn showing only one side of the ship in the plan view (because ships are bilaterally symmetrical and it would be redundant to show both sides) and that all measurements of the ribs were shown as “off keel” meaning the measurement from the keel of the ship to the end of the rib), which was often abbreviated, “O.K.”. When the measurement was correctly made it was “O.K.”
Sadly I have no reference for this explanation.
Ummm, no, the first time OK was said was in the civil war, when people asked, how are you soldier, and they answered OK for 0kills.
it’s actually from the US civil war. In the hospitals, they would count the casualties, and if there was nobody killed, they would say 0 K or “0 Killed” or “OK”
Ha, my history teacher said it was because us Ohioans are dumb and when a president was running for president the mean to say All Correct on their signs but spelled it wrong. Then the rest of Americans made fun of us by saying OK and it stuck. Guess i was wrong! Lol
Mike is very incorrect. The first written recordings of the word okay were found in the 1700′s so this is wrong. It was probably used before then but those found were the first written accounts.
Agree with Faraz; I too have heard of a similar version
Okelydokely
I just wanted to add to that final sentence…” From the text message friendly ‘K’ to the Ned Flanders version, ‘Okily-dokily.’ ” and of course, as Elliinaa said there is also the much more common Okie dokie…but mainly I just wanted to point out that in addition to simply “K” (which had been around to shorten the spoken word since before text messages, before cell phones, and probably even since before computers) and of course “Ok”, that the actual, correct spelling (according not only to both Mozilla Firefox’s and Microsoft Word’s spell-check features, but also according to most English dictionaries) is in fact “Okay”.
Just thought I should point that out (since it wasn’t mentioned at all in the article). Anyways, nice article, Mike. Ya learn somethin’ new every day!
okay is the long version of ok. ? i guess if you look up okay if get a different meaning in which it seems like an actual word.
When it comes to etymology of word ‘okey’ there you have options:
It’s a derivative of the Choctaw Indian affirmative “okeh.” Andrew Jackson, who figures in many stories about OK, is said to have introduced the word to the white man.
Another Jackson story has it that he used to mark OK for “oll korrect” on court documents. In the one example of this that was actually unearthed, however, the OK was found actually to be OR, for “order recorded,” a common courthouse abbreviation.
It was a telegraphic signal meaning “open key,” that is, ready to receive. Others say OK was used for “all right” because A and R had already been appropriated for other purposes. Big problem with this theory: the first telegraph message was transmitted in 1844, five years after OK appeared.
It stands for O. Kendall & Sons, a supplier of army biscuits that stamped its initials on its product.
It comes from Aux Cayes, already discussed. A variant is that it comes from the French au quai, “to the dock,” said of cotton that had been approved for loading on a ship.
It stands for Obediah Kelly, a railroad freight agent, who used to mark his initials on documents to indicate all was in order.
It comes from the Greek Olla Kalla, “all good.”
A German general who fought on the side of the Americans in the Revolutionary War used to sign documents OK for Ober-Kommando.
And many many more
Well, the greeks claim it came from “Όλα Καλά”, which in greek means Everything’s Fine.
so lets see it was not shorten from – OKAY
nice one there, thanks!
orion knows
i learned something new today!
the zero killed one could one is quite logical
Also, back in the civil war, whenever a battle was over they would hold up the sign for how many dead there were, such as 12K, 123K and 0K. Zero K means there were no deaths and everything was good, hence 0K meaning OK and everything is fine.
Well, I am pretty sure that ok came from an abbreviation from the word okay. Sounds pretty obvious to me. But it also does have other possible origins, the choctaw word okeh and other similarities to languages of african origin.
I read that the origin of this “indefinable term” roots back to the years when Pirates sailed the seas.
As the story goes, Pirates had such a unique dialect amongst themselves. Only they understood each cliche and phrase used around the piers where they docked.
The term “Oll Korrect” (All Correct) became shortened, into what has become “O.K.” Use of this term spread from the shipyards into everyday use.
Now you know……. The Rest of the Story.
I heard it was from Grover Cleveland’s initials. When he signed his initials to something it looked like OK. When asking someone as to the regards or status of their proposed bill they would ask,…”Did you get the OK?” Amazing how hearing something like that as a kid will stick with you. And come to think of it, I’ve spread that rumor to many an ear. Learn something new everyday.
Its actually Greek in origin. The sailors coming into port used to call out to each other “Ola Kala” meaning “Everything good ?”
I call my boyfriend as OK. Thanks for sharing this article about his nickname. I’m relaxed to read his name.
cool
actually , the phrase ‘ok’ comes from an old german man, who’s initials were OK. Otto something I think. Anyway , he owned a factory , and when the merchandise was being passed through on the belts, his workers would check them to see if they were alright. If they were , they would write the owners initials ‘ok’ on the boxes, and thats the real story.
I know the term “OK” goes at least to the 1880s. It was used in the West USA in the famous “OK Corral” where the famous gunfight took place.
I always thought it was lazy people spelling Okay!
How come everyone says “okay” is the full word if it started with “OK”… So it IS cooler to say “okay” =3
Explain QK, the ninja.
Weird. Nice internet creeping.
Mike: back in 1965, I had read some reading cards that had stories on them and then there were some reading comprehension and memory tests. I still remember:
that the final inspection on the design of Henry Ford’s original auto had the initials, O.K. (Otto Kompen)…he initialed the original design that passed his inspection, giving it the O.K.
I think that this story is far more believable!
Thank you for such praiseworthy presentation. I appreciate the depth of your knowledge but humbly venture to put forward that.that’s story is very nice
Correct, but what about “Okay”? Is that just an extension?? They both sound the same and have the same meaning, but what about the spelling??
OH, didn’t know that. who started saying oh? Aren’t you the guy that invented the saying FUBAR?
Oh OK… now I know!
What I know from “OK” it is a shortcut for Zero Killed.
during the World War II, when they come back to there camps they used to say … we had 2 killed form our soldiers. and when they didnt have any, used to say 0k so the word OK come form 0 killed
Thanks
I never knew about the other stories, but I’ve heard about Faraz khorasani’s version before: ’0 killed’
I always believed ok was from the world wars……when the planes would return they would report how many of their members were killed and they would hopefully say 0 Killied….or OK for short so ok meant a good think idk that was my theory
OK
Okay
Okaii
K
KK
Okey dokey
Alright
umm, I’m pretty sure OK comes from 0 kill in one of the world wars.
I thought this was the story of Oklahoma lol.
I though it was a way of asking or saying “all right”
as in are you OK?
or OK already ,SHUT UP!
or your a OK person.
or OK I’m Done!
it comes from war
the british used the write the number of people killed everyday
O=ZERO
K=KILLED
OK
I read in a dictionary that the phrase ” O.K” came from the German army ( I think) which was the abbreviation for ” Oll Korect” ( all correct) or something like that. It made communication faster , easier and more efficient during the war. ( not sure if it was first or second though).
Its a short form of Okay
‘OK’ originated from an American army/navy term in the 18th century. After a battle people would report how many soldiers were killed. if 5 soldiers were killed they would report ’5. K.’ if 10 soldiers were killed they would report ’10. K.’ and so on. In a battle where 0 solders were killed the report would read ’0. K.’ which due to its similar appearance to ‘OK’ (using the letter o instead of the number zero). And thus the trend began with officers reporting ‘ situation is OK’ read as “okay” when no deaths were reported. Eventually the term became a well used phrase to describe ‘all is well’ and it began being used through all society.
HAHAHA, DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE HERE THAT KNOWS THE DEFINITION FOR “OK” ? NOP! JUST GO TI WIKKIPEDIA.COM AND BEST ANSWER IS RIGHT THERE.
very gorgeous post full with information. This types of information are much more helpful in GK.
Thanks a lot
Mike,funny gist but I can tell U that U are wrong. U Americans make one laugh, U think everything starts and stops in America. Anything happening in US to be precise, becomes a World issue – World Champion this World champion that, even when the person has not gone pass US, funny indeed!
Mike, for your information. OK originated from the Eastern part of Nigeria in the West of Africa. Ok originated from the Word okeychukwu, meaning my share from God is enough, the short form being OK meaning ENOUGH.
As time went on people stared using it to refer to anything that is enough and that is how the name spread to US, thank you.
The BBC wrote a comprehensive article about this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12503686
Actually, I read up on the OK thing, and it was supposedly from when in war, no one got killed on that day. It read as 0 Killed, and they eventually shortened it to 0K = OK.
I don’t if this is true.There is another version of this story.It says that the Greeks in 1821 when they began the resistance with the Turkish army they were sending each other letters butt they were writing only the first letter and they were writing OK that means ola kala in Greek.but I don’t know if this is true
The Flanders version is actually “okidoki”, though it could be spelt differently.
I agree with Faraz Khorasani, I know that OK comes from a military jargon to say that “zero killed” soldiers there were that day (in communicating the situation from the front to the headquarters), and the gesture of the “OK” hand sign, is derived from the “zero” gesture, to indicate the same thing: zero killed.
I was told that the initials OK came from the first world war when reports came back from the frontlines about battles it would say OK for zero killed.
i heard that ok originated from a Greek postal vworker in New York. He was writing on checked parcels Ola kala, whichick is Greek for All good. He then abbreviated it to OK. So similar to the other story from Savvas.
Do we really care?
So basically they were the originators of text-speak before there was a need for it. lol
and it’s “A” okay.. came from Italians when they came over here.. they knew the word Ok, also,, and they say A Okay.. which in italian e’ means.. it is.. so they were saying it’s okay.. so when we say.. it’s “A” Okay.. we are really saying it is is Ok!.. trip out.. i discovered this on my own.. so this is fresh stuff!
When whiskey was distilled in the old days the Kentucky blend was among the most popular. When distillation was completed the inspector tested it and if good marked it OK for Old Kentucky
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: probably an abbreviation of orl korrect, humorous form of all correct, popularized as a slogan during President Van Buren’s reelection campaign of 1840; his nickname Old Kinderhook (derived from his birthplace) provided the initials
so many theories leads us to more confusion
hmm…so OK is not just the most popular American phrase but more like THE most popular phrase in the world.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/okay.html
Orle Korrect is German for all correct.It has been around as part of the German language for a long time. It spread across the continent ,to England and from there to the New World.
The English with their famous sense of
humour altered it to “Okey Dokey”‘in rhyming slang.
If it had been the Jews, it might have been “Hokey Shmokey” ,but thats another story.
If there are any Germans out there,please “korrect” me if I am wrong.
Danku!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay
I thought it was a teenage shortening of Okay.thz(Thanks)
Interesting, but the best part is that when you turn it 90º, it looks like a little guy (with a rather large head.)
“Olla Kala” means all is good in Greek. Greek people have been using it in the same context for ages.
What is widely regarded as the earliest known example of the modern “ok” being set down on paper is a quintessential “we arrived ok” notation in the hand-written diary of William Richardson going from Boston to New Orleans in 1815, about a month after the Battle of New Orleans. One entry says “we traveled on to N. York where we arrived all well, at 7 P.M.” By most reckonings a later similar entry uses “ok” in place of “all well”: “Arrived at Princeton, a handsome little village, 15 miles from N Brunswick, ok & at Trenton, where we dined at 1 P.M.”
Wow, all this hoopla over two simple little letters, lol
. An WE wonder why the government can’t get anything productive done.
From reading all the comments it would appear basically that “O.K” could have originated from ANY number of places. Plain and simple, it’s like that joke about the tree falling in the woods. If you aren’t there to hear it or see it how would you know if it fell hmmm…?
In other words for us to truly know where this word really originated from you would have to be around a lot of people for a real LONG time. Anybody got a time machine?
actually, I’m pretty sure I invented that word…
OK actually comes from the native american indian word hookay, which literally means OK or alright or fine. Europeans started using it after coming into contact with them in the early settlers years around 1600-1700.
Och Aye: is Scottish. Always has been and always will be.
and it means: Ah! yes OK 
Its not greek LOL
Not English, but the bastards stole it anyway
in Holland we say ok and oki doki for no particular reason other than it sounds cute
I’m sure O.K. in proper English was originally spelt “okay” and Americans spelt it “O.K.” which has now become standard.
from start of 19th century 1st time british was used for every thing is right at this place in this time say this phrase ok come from oll krocet because at time A is written as O and C is written as K alphabet .
It came from soliders on casulty list 0kills no death ok
Sorry but that’s incorrect. It comes from the French “au quai” and unloading shipments at the docks in Canada.