Ok is a great word, and I wonder how the world got around without it, and that so many languages had developed without an equivalent. In English, the phrase “all right” and ok are just about synonymous… I can’t really think of any examples where one OK is fine to use, and all right is not. But “all right” seems to imply, at least from its roots, that you are affirming something by stating that it is right. OK on the other hand can be completely neutral. And it can be used in a wide variety of situations.
A: How was your day?
B: It was ok. (neutral, unremarkable, etc.)
A: Pick up some milk at the store for me please.
B: OK. (acknowledgement)
A: Looks like we are finally ready for our vacation.
B: OK! Let’s get going. (Interjection signifying excitement)
It is also just fun to say, short and to the point. It’s probably my favorite word of all time. I shudder to think about having to live in a world where no one knew what I meant when I said OK… I hope I never get teleported back in time too far!
And who says they had done so? Spanish has several equivalents, to the extent that you can tell where someone is from by which one(s) they use, and they predate OK.
Off topic, but of the 63 languages available for translation on Google Translate, only these languages don’t use a word clearly based on taxi (Estonian, for example is takso):
Arabic - Given as أجرة, audio file sounds like “oozrah”
Chinese (Traditional) - Given as phonetic translation Dí shì which I could see being based on “taxi” but it isn’t clear.
Hebrew - Given as מונית but no phonetic or audio version is provided so I don’t know.
Latvian - Interestingly (to me) they use taksometrs, which is the full word “taxi” was derived from (taxometer, or the machine that calculated how much was owed).
Persian - Given as تاکسی but with no phonetic or audio translation so I don’t know.
Urdu - Given as ٹیکسی but with no phonetic or audio translation so I don’t know.
Yiddish - טאַקסי, no phonetic or audio translation so I don’t know.
Something I’ve seen referenced hereabouts (I actually think it was in another recent thread) is the notion that “taxi” is from English, but I was taught it’s from Greek. A hop to rae.es says that taxi itself is “short for taximeter” (thanks guys) and that the taxi- part in taximeter is the greek root meaning “tax” (as in VAT, income tax, etc.). So even if “taxi” in its myriad incarnations derives from “taxicab” (which I don’t really know), taxicab would, in turn, derive from “tax” and this from Greek.
“Yeah” is my vote for the second most popular word. I’ve heard it uttered from people the world over and the tendency of many to string the word in triplicateform makes its tally rise precipitously.
That doesn’t logically make “taxi” a Greek word. All English words are derived from some other language - by the same logic I could argue OK/okay is actually a Latin word, since it is derived from “correct,” which is from Latin.
If the Greek term for “tax” morphed into the French word “Taximetre” for a measuring device and then was shortened into the English word “Taxi” meaning a car that offers paid conveyance, and it is borrowed by other languages in that sense, then “taxi” is an English word. If on the other hand “taxi” actually came into English from the Greek word for a vehicle offering conveyance for hire, then it’s a Greek word being borrowed.
Having done some Googling, it appears “Taxi” as a standalone word for a car for hire is of English origin. I am not absolutely 100% certain it might not have been invented in France, but it’s one or the other.