OK?

[Manassas 1861]

I was flipping through "Fourteen Hundred & 91 Days in the Confederate Army" the diary of W.W. Heartsill and noticed two instances of him writing "O K". Is this the term which we use today? If so, how common was it?

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

I was flipping through "Fourteen Hundred & 91 Days in the Confederate Army" the diary of W.W. Heartsill and noticed two instances of him writing "O K". Is this the term which we use today? If so, how common was it?

Yes, I've seen OK in several CW diaries. It was a popular way of saying something was correct. Here's a bit on the theories regarding the origin of the phrase-

The Etymology of the Word "OK" - Trusted Translations, Inc.

Discover the surprising origins of the word 'OK', its fascinating history, and how it became one of the most universally recognized expressions worldwide.

www.trustedtranslations.com

 

[7thWisconsin]

Yep - short version is that OK is a period expression. It´s ¨Oll Korrect!¨

 

[R. Porter]

That etymology of OK didn't say where or when it was first documented or where the next few documented uses were. If they were all in Maine that might shoot down a Southern Plantation origin. I would say that article is not OK!

 

[R. Porter]

Several years ago when my daughter did well in school I gave her a mug that said, "World's okayest daughter." You can't tell me I don't know how to dad!

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

That etymology of OK didn't say where or when it was first documented or where the next few documented uses were. If they were all in Maine that might shoot down a Southern Plantation origin. I would say that article is not OK!

LOL - I think they are saying it's still under debate!

"Theories about the word's beginnings and original meaning abounded, according to the Economist. The Germans thought it came from an abbreviation of Oberst Kommandant, a high military rank. The French claimed it came from the pronunciation of Aux Cayes, a port town they had founded in Haiti. Some assumed that "OK" was shorthand for "open key," a term once associated with the telegraph. Others thought Andrew Jackson picked up and popularized the Choctaw interjection "okeh" in his years as a general along the Mississippi River." *

OK first appeared in print in the US in 1839, when it was used as an abbreviation for "oll korrect," or "all correct." The debate rages on!

* Smithsonian Magazine, How One Man Discovered the Obscure Origins of the Word 'OK'