okay

Where does the word "okay" come from? It comes from American English O.K., passing through American English before entering English (1920s).

Okay’s story begins in American English: O.K. meant “all correct.” The Boston Morning Post printed 'o.k.' on 23 March 1839 as a joke abbreviation of 'oll korrect', part of a fad for misspelled initials, as the linguist Allen Walker Read showed in the 1960s. Within American English, it grew into O.K. by 1840. Martin Van Buren's re-election campaign adopted it for his nickname 'Old Kinderhook', spreading it nationwide through 'O.K. Clubs'. It reached English by 1920s as okay. Spelled out as a word; now among the most widely recognised expressions in the world's languages. Today, okay means satisfactory; all right; used to express agreement.

1. Stage 1 · American English · 1839 O.K. "all correct", the Boston Morning Post printed 'o.k.' on 23 March 1839 as a joke abbreviation of 'oll korrect', part of a fad for misspelled initials, as the linguist Allen Walker Read showed in the 1960s.
2. Stage 2 · American English · 1840 O.K. "all right", Martin Van Buren's re-election campaign adopted it for his nickname 'Old Kinderhook', spreading it nationwide through 'O.K. Clubs'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1920s okay "all right", spelled out as a word; now among the most widely recognised expressions in the world's languages.