OK

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Satisfactory; good enough but not excellent.

   The food was OK, but nothing special.

2. 2
   adj

   Allowed or acceptable.

   Is it OK if I borrow your pen?

3. 3
   noun

   Permission or approval to do something.

   We can't start the project until the boss gives the OK.

4. 4
   verb

   To officially approve or agree to something.

   The manager OK'd our request for an extra day off.

Simplified etymology

OK originated in the United States, probably as an abbreviation of orl korrect, a humorous misspelling of “all correct.” It was used during Martin Van Buren’s 1840 presidential reelection campaign and was reinforced by the initials of his nickname, Old Kinderhook, taken from his birthplace.

Origin disputed. Wikipedia lists many possible etymologies, of which the most widely accepted is that it is an abbreviation of oll/orl korrect, a comical spelling of all correct, which first appeared in print in The Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, as part of a fad for similar fanciful abbreviations in the United States during the late 1830s. The expression became popular through its use in the presidential campaign of Martin Van Buren in 1840, who was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and then slowly acquired other meanings. The Choctaw word oke, okeh (“it is so”), common in Choctaw translation…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary