Common questions

What do the letters OK stand for?

What do the letters OK stand for?

OK stands for “oll korrect”, or “all correct”.

What does O and K stand for in OK?

In the case of O.K., the abbreviation is of “oll korrect.” Probably further popularized by use as an election slogan by the O.K. Club, New York boosters of Democratic president Martin Van Buren’s 1840 re-election bid. It refers to his nickname Old Kinderhook, from his birth in the N.Y. village of Kinderhook.

Is OK okay?

Okay and OK are two acceptable spellings of the same word. There’s no difference between OK and okay. The older term, OK, (possibly) derived from an abbreviation for an intentional misspelling of “all correct.” The terms are both standard English.

Where did the term OK originate?

There may be more stories about the origin of “OK” than there are uses for it: it comes from the Haitian port “Aux Cayes,” from Louisiana French au quai, from a Puerto Rican rum labeled “Aux Quais,” from German alles korrekt or Ober-Kommando, from Chocktaw okeh, from Scots och aye, from Wolof waw kay, from Greek olla …

Does OK means zero killed?

Another popular tale is that of the damage report during the civil war. It was said that, in order to save time and avoid a useless headcount, regiments that had no deaths would hold up a sign with the letters “OK” on it, standing for “Zero Killed”.

What did we say before okay?

Before 1839, English speakers had “yes”, “good”, “fine”, “excellent”, “satisfactory”, and “all right”.

Is okay a full sentence?

In English, yes, no and okay are common pro-sentences. Pro-sentences are sometimes seen as grammatical interjections, since they are capable of very limited syntactical relations.

Does OK mean 0 killed?

When did we start using OK?

23 March 1839
On 23 March 1839, OK was introduced to the world on the second page of the Boston Morning Post, in the midst of a long paragraph, as “o.k. (all correct)”.

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Ruth Doyle