English for a decade or more before its appearance in newspapers. OK’s original presentation as “all correct” was later varied with spellings such as “Oll Korrect” or even “Ole Kurreck”. The origin of OK is disputed; however, most modern reference works hold that it originated around Boston as part of a fad in the late 1830s of abbreviating misspellings; that it is an initialism of “oll korrect” as a misspelling of “all correct”. This origin was first described by linguist Allen Walker Read in the 1960s. Okay and OK are two acceptable spellings of the same word.

• The “Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells,” is one of the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via Providence, he of the Journal, and his train-band, would have his “contribution box,” et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward.
• As such, it never hurts to check your style guide if you have one.
• As proofreaders, though, we’re grateful that deliberate typos are no longer in fashion.
• The country-wide publicity surrounding the election appears to have been a critical event in OK’s history, widely and suddenly popularizing it across the United States.
• The origin of OK is disputed; however, most modern reference works hold that it originated around Boston as part of a fad in the late 1830s of abbreviating misspellings; that it is an initialism of “oll korrect” as a misspelling of “all correct”.

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

If you want to make sure your answer is the correct one, you will have to get the answers to those questions. “Vote for OK” was snappier than using his Dutch name.11 In response, Whig opponents attributed OK, in the sense of “Oll Korrect”, to the bad spelling of Andrew Jackson, Van Buren’s predecessor. The country-wide publicity surrounding the election appears to have been a critical event in OK’s history, widely and suddenly popularizing it across the United States. The extremely versatile okay and OK can express agreement, change the topic, check for understanding, and verify that things are all right.

Popular in Wordplay

Around the same time, President Martin Van Buren, nicknamed “Old Kinderhook” because he was from Kinderhook, New York, was running for reelection. “Vote for OK” became his campaign slogan. Even though Old Kinderhook lost the election in 1840, OK remained popular and spread abroad. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the okay spelling emerged after a few decades.

Is one form more formal than the other?

In the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), upon which the World Wide Web is based, a successful response from the server is defined as OK (with the numerical code 200 as specified in RFC 2616). The Session Initiation Protocol also defines a response, 200 OK, which conveys success for most requests (RFC 3261).

Browse Nearby Words

The origins of this term are hazy, with multiple proposed explanations. The most common, however, is that it was an abbreviation of “oll korrect,” a comical misspelling of “all correct.” Why did “OK” catch on while the fad of comical misspelling faded? As proofreaders, though, we’re grateful that deliberate typos are no longer in fashion. It’s actually okay that derives from OK. The exact genesis of OK is unclear, but one popular theory contends that in the nineteenth century, people began spelling “all correct” phonetically (“oll korrect” or “orl korrect”) as a bit of a laugh. Later, they shortened it to the initials OK.

International usage

Read gives a number of subsequent appearances in print. Seven instances were accompanied with glosses that were variations on “all correct” such as “oll korrect” or “ole kurreck”, but five appeared with no accompanying explanation, suggesting that the word was expected to be well known to readers and possibly in common colloquial use at the time. The general fad is speculated to have existed in spoken or informal written U.S.

Boston abbreviation fad

In formal writing, follow the requirements of your style guide. The Choctaw language was one of the languages spoken at this time in the Southeastern United States by a tribe with significant contact with African slaves.18 The major language of trade in this area, Mobilian Jargon, was based on Choctaw-Chickasaw, two Muskogean-family languages. Otherwise, it’s a matter of preference! Just make sure to use one spelling consistently throughout each document. And if you’d like an expert to help with this, our proofreaders are always available. However, the AP Stylebook specifies using “OK.” And other style guides may recommend checking a dictionary for the preferred spelling.

As such, it never hurts to check your style guide if you have one. If you’re like most people, the first word you thought of was okay—or was it OK? Is OK simply a chicken road app download shortened version of okay?

• Otherwise, it’s a matter of preference!
• The origins of this term are hazy, with multiple proposed explanations.
• The Choctaw language was one of the languages spoken at this time in the Southeastern United States by a tribe with significant contact with African slaves.18 The major language of trade in this area, Mobilian Jargon, was based on Choctaw-Chickasaw, two Muskogean-family languages.
• Is OK simply a shortened version of okay?
• The exact genesis of OK is unclear, but one popular theory contends that in the nineteenth century, people began spelling “all correct” phonetically (“oll korrect” or “orl korrect”) as a bit of a laugh.
• The above is from the Providence Journal, the editor of which is a little too quick on the trigger, on this occasion.

In this post, then, we’re looking at how to use “OK” and “okay” in your work. Arguments for a more Southern origin for the word note the tendency of English to adopt loan words in language contact situations, as well as the ubiquity of the OK particle. Similar particles exist in native language groups distinct from Iroquoian (Algonquian, Cree cf. “ekosi”). The above is from the Providence Journal, the editor of which is a little too quick on the trigger, on this occasion. We said not a word about our deputation passing “through the city” of Providence.—We said our brethren were going to New York in the Richmond, and they did go, as per Post of Thursday. The “Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells,” is one of the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via Providence, he of the Journal, and his train-band, would have his “contribution box,” et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward.