History Forum / General / Ancient History / November 2007

More Grist For The Mill...

From Mike Todd at:

<http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/okay.htm>

DSH

Lux et Veritas et Libertas

Deus Vult
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     Where did OKAY come from?

     There can be no more universal term than Okay.  It is used in just
about every language in the world, and its use is probably even more
widespread than Coca-Cola. Yet nobody really knows for sure where it
originated. In fact, just as there can be no more universal term, there can
also be no more controversial when it comes to determining its origin.

     The reality is that most theories are folklore, invented (albeit based
on real occurrences) to try to provide a definitive explanation. Personally,
I subscribe to the "coincidental coinage" theory - that is, "OK" was in
isolated and independent verbal use in a number of places in the very early
part of the 19th century prior to its first written appearance (in the
Boston Morning Post, on March 23rd, 1839). It would have faded into
obscurity if it were not for some of the other appearances in the years that
followed.

     So here are just some of the theories (some of which are, in reality,
just attempts to fix an earliest date, and some of which are highly
fanciful!), and my own personal summary appears at the end.

     The Choctaw theory

     In the American Choctaw Indian language, there is a word okeh, which
means "it is so". It is likely (although I can find no hard evidence) that
this word was used in some American communities in the early 19th century.
There is a report that Andrew Jackson, during the Battle of New Orleans in
1815, learned of this Choctaw word, liked it, and used it.

     Woodrow Wilson also preferred this etymology, and used okeh when he
approved official papers. His use led to this particular form being picked
up by Okeh Records, "the name of a series of popular phonograph records"
[Mencken, 1936] as well as hot-dog stands, shoe-shining parlours and more.

     The Andrew Jackson Libel theory

     Some time around 1832, Seba Smith was accused of libel in claiming
that Andrew Jackson endorsed a pronouncement written by his literary
secretary, Amos Kendell, with OK Amos. The details are not very clear, but
it is possible that what was really written was OR, meaning "Order
Recorded". However, one newspaper reporting on the matter, presumably some
years later, said that the letters OK had been adopted "as a sort of
[Democratic] part cry and [were] fastened upon their banners". This does
give at least some credence to the idea that OK was at least in familiar use
prior to 1840.

     The Wolof theory

     Like Choctaw Indian, the Wolof language (spoken in Senegal and The
Gambia, formerly The Gold Coast) has something like okeh to mean an emphatic
"yes" (it's more like waa-key in reality). Wolof has given American English
a number of words, perhaps through the African slave trade, such as juke,
honky (to mean a white man), hipcat (or hepcat, meaning a jazz enthusiast),
jive and even dig (as in "to understand"), although it should be noted that
there is nowhere near universal agreement on these! It is likely that okeh
appeared in early black American spoken slang.

     The Other Languages theories

     Yet more languages have similar-sounding words for "yes" or "it is
so". Liberian has oke, and Burmese has hoakeh, for instance. Yet again, it
is possible that these examples crept into American use in small isolated
areas at some time prior to 1839.

     The Indian Chief theory

     Keokuk was an Indian chief (after whom Keokuk, in Iowa, is named). His
admirers sometimes referred to him as "Old Keokuk, he's all right", and the
initials OK, came to mean the same thing.

     The orl korrect theory

     The Internet fashion for condensing phrases into abbreviation
certainly not new! The 1830s saw a rise of quirky abbreviations for common
phrases, which for some reason seems to have been particularly popular in
Boston. ISBD was used to mean "it shall be done", RTBS for "it remains to be
seen" and SP for "small potatoes".

     It went further, with KY used to mean "no use" (know yuse) and an
article in the March 23rd, 1839, edition of the Boston Morning Post, saw
this produce OK, short for "all correct" (orl korrect). This is the earliest
published appearance of OK that has so far been found.

     The Richardson theory

     William Richardson recorded his journey from Boston to New Orleans in
his 1815 diary. Transcriptions of the diary show "Arrived at Princeton, a
handsome little village, o.k. and at Trenton where we dined at 1p.m." -
although some have proposed that this showed the use of the expression in
1815, the original manuscript shows that this was actually part of some
alterations that may have been added by Richardson (or someone else),
possibly even after 1840 when the term had come into common use. Another
possibility is that the writing is of a.h., referring to "a handsome", but
there are many objections to this theory.

     The 16th century theories

     Several claims have been made to have found appearances of OK have in
16th century manuscripts. In one instance Notes & Queries (1911) points out
that the will of Thomas Cumberland in 1565 is shown to use OK. But more
careful scrutiny shows that this is more likely to have been the initials of
the scrivener.

     Books published in 1593 and 1596 also have OK included, but apparently
as nouns. The text of one (Have with You to Saffron-Walden, by Thomas Nashe,
the British author) goes "Martin is Guerra, Brown a brone-bill, & Barrow a
wheelbarrow; Ket a knight, H.N. [referring to Henry Nichols] an O.K." As
Mencken states in his supplement to The American Language, "the meaning here
is unfathomable".

     The Old Kinderhook theory

     Martin van Buren was standing as the Democratic presidential candidate
in 1840. He had acquired the nickname of Old Kinderhook (he was born in
Kinderhook, New York). On March 24, 1840 the Democrats opened the OK Club in
Grand Street, New York City, based on the initials of van Buren's nickname.

     The expression OK soon became the watchword of this club, and in that
same year, a Democratic newspaper equated the initials with the strivings of
the party to "make all things OK".

     The Cockney Orl Korrec theory

     The Times, in 1939, had an article reporting that it was of Cockney
origin. The author remembered its use as an abbreviation for Orl korrec when
he was a boy in the late 19th century. However, this post-dates its first
appearance by many years.

     The French theory

     During the American War of Independence, French sailors made
"appointments" with American girls aux quais (meaning when they were berthed
at the quayside). This theory was put forward by Britain's Daily Express
newspaper in 1940.

     The Finish theory

     The Fins have a word for correct, and it is oikea. In a 1940 article,
someone at the Cleveland Public Library suggested that this may be the
origin.

     The British Parliament theory

     The same source as the Cockney theory (The Times, in 1939) pointed out
that some bills going through the House of Lords had to be read and approved
by Lords Onslow and Kilbracken, and they each initialed them - producing the
combined initials OK.

     The Anglo-Saxon theory

     Several centuries before its first appearance, Norwegian and Danish
sailors used an Anglo-Saxon word, hogfor, which meant ready for sea. This
was frequently shortened to HG, which in turn would have been pronounced
hag-gay.

     The Literary theory

     Laurence Sterne was a British author of the 18th century, and in his
book A Sentimental Journey, published in 1768, he uses the emphatic French
form of yes: O qu-oui. In an anglicised pronunciation (oh-key), the phrase
was used by some to express affirmation.

     The Schoolmaster theory

     In a letter in the Vancouver Sun, in 1935, it was pointed out that
early schoolmasters would mark examination papers by adding the Latin Omnis
Korrecta, which was sometimes abbreviated to OK.

     The Ship-Builder theory

     Early ship-builders would mark the timber they prepared, and the first
to be laid was marked "OK Number 1", meaning "outer keel No. 1".

     The Telegraph theory

     Early telegraph operators abbreviated everything, to reduce the amount
of work needed. They would use GM for "Good Morning", GA for "Go Ahead" and
so on. In 1935, Tatler, in the Observer, suggests that they also used OK.
This doesn't stand up at all, as the telegraph post-dated the first written
occurrence and it is almost certain, in my view, that they adopted OK rather
than inventing it.

     The Scottish theory

     We've all heard the Scottish expression, och-aye. An author in the
Nottingham Journal in 1943 suggests that OK is simply an adaptation of this
expression. The Scottish expression derives from och, meaning an exclamation
of surprise and aye meaning yes, and has been in existence since perhaps the
16th century.

Hmmmmmmmm... -- DSH

     The Old English theory

     In early England, the last harvest loads brought in from the fields
were known as hoacky or horkey. It was also the name given to harvest-home,
which was the feast which followed the last loads brought in. The
satisfactory completion of harvest was therefore known as hoacky, which was
soon (at least according to an article in the Daily Telegraph in 1935)
shortened to OK.

     The Prussian theory

     The Times printed a suggestion that the Prussian general, Schliessen
(fighting for the American colonies during the War of Independence) was
properly given the title Oberst Kommandant. All his orders were initialed
OK.

     The Greek theory

     Probably the earliest suggestion comes from the Greek. The two Greek
letters omega and khi appear in a work called Geoponica in 920AD as being a
magical incantation (when repeated twice) against fleas!

Hmmmmmmm... Let's watch it work against the fleas on USENET. -- DSH

     The Railway theory

     Obediah Kelly was an early railway freighter. He is known to have
signed bills of lading with his initials, OK, and in railway circles OK came
to mean that something had been authorised.

     The War-Department (or cracker) theory

     During the Civil War, the US War Department bought supplies of
crackers from a company called Orrins-Kendall. Their initials appeared on
the boxes, and as the crackers were of a particularly high standard, the
letters OK became synonymous with "all right". This theory was originally
put forward in a publication called Linguist, from the Horace Mann School
for Boys in New York, although it has subsequently appeared in a number of
other publications.

     The multitudinous other theories

     During 1840, American politicians used the term frequently, and dreamt
up many absurd (and often pointed) origins. Out of Kash, out of kredit, out
of klothes, all became identified with van Buren's campaign. And on the
floor of the House of Representatives, a congressman from Illinois suggested
it meant Orful Kalamity.

     Since 1840, many other explanations have been reported. The list
above, although long and fanciful, is only the tip of the iceberg!

       So just where did OK come from?

           I will leave the reader to come to his or her own conclusions
from the above. However, my own view is that there are bits of several of
the above explanations involved.

           Unfortunately, etymologists and word-lovers alike seem to have
an innate desire to have a single point of origin for words. If they're
unable to find that, they like to see clearly defined lines of evolution. My
own view is that many words and phrases arise, not from single sources, but
through my own theory of "coincidental coinage", where many disparate uses
have occurred but which are brought together by some single act.

           I would suggest that the Choctaw, and possibly even the other
foreign language influences, had resulted in small pockets of America using
okeh or something similar. This may have been the case perhaps back as far
as the 17th century, but more likely the 18th.

           The existence of these examples reinforced the Democrats' use of
OK to mean Old Kinderhook, and soon the OK Club became well known.
Inevitably, the club would have become well known through the nation's
newspapers and, reinforced by folk etymologies, the term became quickly
established.

           I would therefore argue that there is no single origin of the
expression, but it was the OK Club that was responsible for bringing the
expression to a wide public arena and which could, in some ways, be said to
have at least started the trend which has continued ever since.

     Finally

     The above notes have been compiled by me on and off over the past few
years. Many books and Internet sources reproduce the same arguments, and
these have been one foundation, backed up by rather firmer documentary
evidence that I have found.  But the major source is undoubtedly "The
American Language", by HL Mencken, in its various editions and supplements.
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DSH