In Portugal, it is used with its Portuguese pronunciation and sounds something like "ókâi" (similar to the English pronunciation but with the "ó" sounding like the "o" in "lost" or "top"), or even as 'oh-kapa', from the letters O ('ó') and K ('capa'). Or did the two-letter version actually come first, and the word is an incorrect fancification of it? are all acceptable spellings of the word.OK is more common in edited writing, but okay appears about a third of the time. A transliteration of the English word, written as オーケー (lit. The answer might surprise you—”OK” came before “okay”! Spanish speakers often spell the word "okey" to conform with the spelling rules of the language. The word is used and recognized across most languages, with many adopting their own spellings (like okei in Norwegian).. This language was used, in particular, for communication with the slave-owning[22][23] Cherokee (an Iroquoian-family language). It has been described as the most frequently spoken or written word on the planet. Is there a difference? The presumption was that the use of particle "oke" or "hoke" was so common and self-evident as to preclude any need for explanation or discussion for either its Choctaw or non-Choctaw readership.[17]. It is written as it sounds in English אוקיי. Charles Gordon Greene wrote about the event using the line that is widely regarded as the first instance of this strain of OK, complete with gloss: The above is from the Providence Journal, the editor of which is a little too quick on the trigger, on this occasion. OK (spelling variations include okay, O.K., and ok) is an English word (originally American English) denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, acknowledgment, or a sign of indifference. Read gives a number of subsequent appearances in print. “OK” may not be an abbreviation for “okay,” but it still began as an abbreviation. You certainly see both forms pretty frequently, and they’re used interchangeably. This prompt is used on Sun, Apple, and other computers with the Forth-based Open Firmware (OpenBoot). We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. The word in Russian has many morphologies: "окей", "океюшки", "ок", "окейно", etc. Some are attracted to the claim that it is of American-Indian origin. In formal writing, follow the requirements of your style guide. You’re still welcome to use “O.K.,” but it’s not grammatically incorrect if you don’t have the periods. [28], Whether this word is printed as OK, Ok, ok, okay, or O.K. In Indonesia, OK is also used as a slogan of national television station RCTI since the year 1994. We’ll be ok” Three major American reference works (Webster's, New Century, Funk & Wagnalls) cited this etymology as the probable origin until as late as 1961. It’s only a VISA bill. Okay and OK are two acceptable spellings of the same word. A verifiable early written attestation of the particle 'kay' is from transcription by Smyth (1784) of a North Carolina slave not wanting to be flogged by a European visiting America: Kay, massa, you just leave me, me sit here, great fish jump up into da canoe, here he be, massa, fine fish, massa; me den very grad; den me sit very still, until another great fish jump into de canoe; ...[27]. [36] Frederic Cassidy asserts that he personally tracked down this diary and notes that: After many attempts to track down this diary, Read and I at last discovered that it is owned by the grandson of the original writer, Professor L. Richardson, Jr., of the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University. "Vote for OK" was snappier than using his Dutch name. 13 April 2010. Next, find out the origins of some more expressions we use all the time. If you don’t have one, you may decide to use a synonym. Arguments for a more Southern origin for the word note the tendency of English to adopt loan words in language contact situations, as well as the ubiquity of the OK particle. President Martin van Buren, who was running for reelection in 1840, went by the nickname “Old Kinderhook” for the New York town he hailed from. It can mean "assent" when it is used as a noun ("the boss gave her the OK to the purchase") or, more colloquially, as a verb ("the boss OKed the purchase"). Personal interview by Nu Alpha Pi. This helped cement the popularity of “OK” (though van Buren lost that election). However, the two-lettered spelling of “OK” has become just as universally common.