# Origin of the term OK or 'okay' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-ok-or-okay/49885 "2001-01-13T19:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ballacraine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Ballacraine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ballacraine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-ok-or-okay/49885/1 "2001-01-13T19:30:58Z")
Could someone please tell me the derivation of this term? Despite asking lots of people over lots of years this question has never been answered to my satisfaction. I asked my Mum whether it was one of the wartime GI acronyms (SNAFU etc). All she could say was she thought it was in use prior to WW2. I feel I am going to regret asking this but… Has anyone any idea,please? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-ok-or-okay/49885/2 "2001-01-13T19:41:49Z")
The answer, according to Cecil, is: “The letters, not to keep you guessing, stand for ‘oll korrect.’ They’re the result of a fad for comical abbreviations that flourished in the late 1830s and 1840s.” Cecil’s full report appears in [What does “OK” stand for?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250.html), from his second opus, _More of the Straight Dope_. ---
**Author:** ![Ballacraine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Ballacraine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ballacraine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-ok-or-okay/49885/3 "2001-01-13T20:05:56Z")
Thanks for the answer & link. That is by far the most comprehensive & authorative reply I have received.