Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- abbreviation Oklahoma
- adjective Satisfactory or agreeable; acceptable.
- adjective Correct.
- adjective Barely satisfactory; mediocre.
- adjective In proper or satisfactory operational or working order.
- adjective Uninjured or not seriously injured.
- adjective Fairly healthy.
- noun Approval; agreement.
- adverb Fine; well enough; adequately.
- interjection Used to express approval or agreement.
- transitive verb To approve of or agree to; authorize.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A Middle English variant of
oak .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun Acronym of
Oklahoma , a state of theUnited States of America . - noun
endorsement ;approval - verb To
approve . - verb computing To
confirm by activating abutton marked OK. - adjective
all right ,permitted - adjective
satisfactory ,reasonably good ; notexceptional - adjective in good
health or a goodemotional state - adverb
satisfactorily ,sufficiently well - interjection Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance.
- interjection An utterance expressing
exasperation , similar to "all right! " - interjection Used to introduce a sentence in order to draw attention to the importance of what is being said.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a state in south central United States
- adverb an expression of agreement normally occurring at the beginning of a sentence
- adjective being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
- noun an endorsement
- verb give sanction to
- noun an endorsement
- adverb in a satisfactory or adequate manner
- adjective being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Journal in 1839, at about the same time the term OK appeared: “That lawyer has been trying to spread the wool over your eyes.”
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004
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Journal in 1839, at about the same time the term OK appeared: “That lawyer has been trying to spread the wool over your eyes.”
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004
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The thing is, OK translates as "OK" into pretty much every language I know of.
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A senator in OK is holding up the Veterans bill; this happens to be a republican.
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Dresses and trousers by Italian Daniela Gregis (under the label OK*AM) hang on the walls like paintings.
The Good Life 2007
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"If you say the word 'OK,' I will take that as a sign you want me back in the lineup."
Breaking Up Is Easy to Do Jason Gay 2011
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So how did the word "OK" conquer the world, asks Allan Metcalf.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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So how did the word "OK" conquer the world, asks Allan Metcalf. ...
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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So how did the word "OK" conquer the world, asks Allan Metcalf.
BBC News - Home 2011
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Today in 1839, the expression "OK" was first used in print.
Boing Boing David Pescovitz 2011
capco commented on the word OK
OK or Okay: (informal). Interjection indicating agreement to approval of what
Somebody said or done, also indicating that something is finished, and
No further action is to be taken.
Origin: O. for Optimum (Latin) the best or the most favorable. And,
K. (Chem.). A Symbol for equilibrium constant; the state reached
In a reversible reaction velocities in the two opposing directions
Are equal, so that the system has no further tendency to change.
(Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary).
The O. and the K. were used after double checking a formula, or a product, in order to indicate that it has passed. After the first test the O. For Optimum, was used to indicate that the formula passed. Then the K. was shown indicating ( for no further action is needed) Therefore when the symbol (OK) appeared in front of a formula it indicated that it has been double checked, and it is passed.
November 14, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word OK
I'm afraid this might not be the actual etymology, capco. In the "etymologies" section of this page you can find a more documented one. See also here for a list of suggested etymologies, with references.
November 14, 2009
pandasmells1000 commented on the word OK
To be like What? Or thats weird.
August 2, 2012
alexz commented on the word OK
Vox did an article on this word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UnIDL-eHOs
How it started from Boston and spread through the Telegraphs.
September 17, 2018