It is one of the most commonly used words on both sides of the Atlantic. But where does it come from? What are its origins? As part of your language study trip to the U.S. —where you’ll most likely use it time and time again—our organization will tell you everything you need to know about the word O.K.
O.K. or okay
The Larousse French dictionary lists two spellings for the word:
- or OK
- or okay
The same book defines this invariable, colloquial adverb and adjective as follows: it is used to express agreement, to replace the phrase “I agree,” or to describe something that is perfect, correct, or honest. Example: Everything is O.K.
"Oll korrect" is a corruption of "all correct"
Unfortunately, the famous dictionary doesn’t really take a stance on the very origin of the word “OK.” In fact, its etymology is still debated, continuing to divide linguists! Larousse, for its part, suggests that the word “OK” may come from the American phrase “oll korrect,” a spelling variation of the English all correct, meaning “everything is fine.”
Oll korrect or 0 killed?
Other theories—which you may hear during your language study trip to the U.S. —suggest a more military origin. According to these theories, the legendary two-letter word originated from a practice adopted by Confederate troops during the Civil War: they reportedly used it to announce the number of casualties in their ranks after a battle, in abbreviated form. Thus, for zero casualties, or 0 killed, they would have used… O.K.
Greek origins?
Une troisième piste, enfin, puise ses origines non pas au pays de l’Oncle Sam, mais sur le Vieux Continent. Le mot O.K. viendrait, selon celle-ci, du grec moderne Ola kala, signifiant, littéralement, tout bien. L’expression aurait été apportée aux Etats-Unis par les marins grecs et les poseurs de rail de même nationalité !