Talk:List of proposed etymologies of OK

The article title implies that Okay derives from OK, not the reverse

In this regard, it's biased, and it's almost certainly misleading. 173.66.211.53 (talk) 05:51, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

The Oxford English Dictionary records the spelling okay in 1895 and the spelling O.K. in 1839. Most dictionaries list OK as the headword and okay as a variant spelling or cross-reference. What etymology do you believe in? jnestorius^(talk) 11:06, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Well, personally, I suspect it is a plain old Germanic word, either retained in some dialect of English, or more likely borrowed from some dialect of another Germanic language in the 18th or early 19th century, via immigrant communities. Wiktionary on PGmc aukaną I know that is not an established view. But the Choctaw, west African, etc. theories are established views and they also imply that the word precedes the abbreviation. 71.191.133.207 (talk) 16:14, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Ochen Khorosho

I've removed this one:

Russian

Initials of Ochen Khorosho (Очень Хорошо; "Very Well")

William Courson

The word Khorosho begins with Kha (Х), not Ka (К). Therefore, this proposed etymology only makes sense if taken from a later transcription to English, and not directly from the original Russian phrase. Kha is a voiceless velar fricative, typically transcribed from Russian as "kh", but sometimes as "h" or even "x" to avoid a repeated and ambiguous use of "k". If either of these alternative transcriptions would be intended, or if the proposed etymology were based purely on the original Russian phrase, then the resulting abbreviation could only be either OH or OX.

As it was added by William Courson @WACourson: so violates WP:OR. jnestorius^(talk) 11:39, 15 August 2015 (UTC)

Emoticon

I once heard the theory that OK stems from a (sideways) stickfigure, i.e. an early emoticon where the O forms the head and the K represents arms and legs. Okay would have been derived later from the literal reading of the letters in English. I've not been presented with any evidence to support this theory, though, as it came up in a casual conversation and thus could very well have been made up entirely (like most other theories). I'm therefore not adding it to the article, but leave it here in case anyone does find a reliable source for it. — Christoph Päper 09:51, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

Ohne Komplikationen

Another alternative could be that German surgeons that might have been in English speaking countries might have marked off their surgeries on lists with "O.K.", i.e. "Ohne Komplikationen" (without complications), meaning the surgery went without a hitch. 2003:73:AE0C:9429:977:82E3:E32B:AE4A (talk) 13:48, 26 January 2018 (UTC)

Much speculation

The origin of "OK" is pretty well known. It started in one place in the USA and spread from there, even into other languages. Some of the 'separate' 'sources' cited in the table are just derivations from the original.

Rather than "Ohne Komplikationen" all the other suggestions here are just Unnötige Komplikationen...and I had never heard of them until stumbling across this article, which should be renamed "The real and fun speculative origins of OK". One reference is enough: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12503686 Dori1951 (talk) 11:15, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

Arabic "Oh, Khair" ("Oh, Good") for "Okay."

No sources at all for this, just thought of it now. Can't get more primary source than that, LOL.
Was just wondering, has no one ever suggested "O Khair"?
"Khair" means "good" in Arabic, and like "okay," it can mean "all right" both in the sense of agreement (1) and of being in good condition (2).
The "O" could be
1). "Oh!" thus "Oh, good" ("Oh, kay")
2). The Arabic genitive particle (can also connect an adjective)

So "Oh, K(hair)" seems like a reasonable candidate for this job.

On the topic of Arabic words in European languages, the most common one, rather than "Kheir=Good," is "Allah=God." I've long thought that the French "O la la" might come from "Ya, Allah" or "Al hamdu-li-llah." But I can't find any source suggesting that, either.
However, it's generally accepted that the Spanish "Olé!" comes from "Allah." viz. https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/the-story-of-ole/
So now all we'd need is a source showing that "oh la la" comes from Olé!-)
However, "O la la" could also come from some other form with "Allah" via Flamenco lyrics. For this I do have a sort of suggestive reference https://blog.idriesshahfoundation.org/flamenco-and-sufism/
"common ‘nonsense’ words used in the Cante include Lelelelele, or Lailo lailo. These are a garbled form of the Islamic creed La ilaha illa Allah (‘No god but Allah’)."
So now we are getting into La La Land... the name of a popular Flamenco album.
"O la la" is used in French for surprise or wonder not only at good or pleasurable things, but also for unpleasant or excessive things. This closely parallels the usage of "alhamdulillah." The two expressions can practically be substituted in the same places in the two languages. Also, "Alhamdulillah" and of course "khair" are used in the same way by Arab Christians as well as Muslims.
Back to O-khair, there is one more similarity. The "O" can be dropped. "K" by itself, or "Uh.. K" is intelligible for "OK," much as "good, uh good, oh good" all are understood.
A-Okay?
JPLeonard (talk) 06:09, 21 May 2021 (UTC)

Metcalf

If Metcalf's preface suggests it came from a Boston newspaper, according to Allen Walker Read's conclusive findings then why is it not listed in the table as such? Stjohn1970 (talk) 13:44, 9 January 2024 (UTC)

Order of suggested etymologies

The article doesn't specify how the proposed etymologies are sorted. Readers might be inclined to believe that the ones on top are somehow more likely or trust-worthy. 73.170.140.25 (talk) 22:58, 8 April 2024 (UTC)