Stupid question? What does OK mean?

B

BlackStorm

New member
One of my clients had this somewhere and when I thought about it I didnt know what OK meant.... :confused:
It has to stand for something since its caps, doesnt it?
 
But is does that have a meaning?
People say "Its OK" and "OK" so wondering if there is any definition to what it really means...
Sorry Im sure this sounds dumb but just have to know :D
 
Well no people "say" its OK which would be the word okay.

People type the word OK in the same way people use brb - as in be right back.....its just to save you typing two more letters
 
I guess Ok -> Okay means fine.

Think about it..

Scenario One:

you say "take out the trash"
they say "okay"

or

you say "take out the trash"
they say "fine"

Scenario Two:

you say "what do you think of my site?"
they say "its okay"

or

you say "what do you think of my site?"
they say "its fine"

I rest my case :)
 
But fine has a different sound to ok, as if it doesnt quite mean the same thing

I mean:

Is it fine to save your file?
Is it okay to save your file?

Just sounds different
 
True it does sound different, much different.. there is no disbuting that.. BUT.. do them two statements not mean the same thing?
 
I take it "ok" is just something people say. Fine and OK sound alot different. Sort of like meaning yes, sure, alright, etc...
 
OK = short for Okay = short for Alright

Is it OK to exit now? = Is it Alright to exit now?

Im doing OK = Im doing alright

You are doing OK on your homework = You are doing Alright on your homework.

OK, Im back = Alright Im back

You guys need to go back to school and study english some more :)
 
Not the original question, but interesting nonetheless.

Origins of OK, from dictionary.com:

OK is a quintessentially American term that has spread from English to many other languages. Its origin was the subject of scholarly debate for many years until Allen Walker Read showed that OK is based on a joke of sorts. OK is first recorded in 1839 but was probably in circulation before that date. During the 1830s there was a humoristic fashion in Boston newspapers to reduce a phrase to initials and supply an explanation in parentheses. Sometimes the abbreviations were misspelled to add to the humor. OK was used in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren's 1840 campaign for reelection. Because he was born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and the abbreviation proved eminently suitable for political slogans. That same year, an editorial referring to the receipt of a pin with the slogan O.K. had this comment: “frightful letters... significant of the birth-place of Martin Van Buren, old Kinderhook, as also the rallying word of the Democracy of the late election, ‘all correct’.... Those who wear them should bear in mind that it will require their most strenuous exertions... to make all things O.K.”
Click to expand...
 
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