The paper consists of two parts. First, a dictionary check-up is being presented. Next some etymological theories about the original usage of the abbreviation "OK" are summarized and exposed.
Table of Contents
I Dictionary Check-up
a) The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles
b) Dictionary of Word Origins
c) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
II The Historical Background of OK
Objectives and Research Themes
This work examines the linguistic origins and etymological history of the term "O.K.", challenging common misconceptions regarding its emergence. It analyzes historical evidence from 19th-century American political campaigns and journalistic sources to trace the term's actual development and popularization.
- Etymological analysis of competing theories (e.g., the "Old Kinderhook" theory)
- Evaluation of contemporary 19th-century newspaper evidence
- Examination of the role of political campaigns in spreading slang
- Investigation into the American tradition of abbreviations and misspellings
Excerpt from the Book
The Historical Background of OK
In the December, 1962 issue of the American Speech, A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage, Woodford A. Heflin wrote an article entitled “O.K. and its Incorrect Etymology”.
In this article Heflin expresses heavy doubts about the theory saying that O.K.’s original meaning derives from “Old Kinderhook”, the birthplace of the Democratic candidate, Martin van Buren. However, there is no question that the Democratic O.K. Club formed by radical supporters of van Buren really existed when a notice of a meeting of that club held on March 23, 1840 was entered in a Democratic newspaper called The New Era.
It was only a week later then that the Whig Party invented and published a story to discredit the Democrats. They said that Andrew Jackson, a famous Democrat in those days and a former President of the U.S.A., used the term for “Oll Korrect”, all spelled with the letter “O” and correct with a “K”. So the joke was aimed at Jackson’s illiteracy.
In fact, there was some truth in the assumption that General Jackson could not spell correctly because he had not enjoyed a thorough education. “Jackson had merely attended a one-room country school house during his boyhood.”
Summary of Chapters
I Dictionary Check-up: Provides an overview of various dictionary definitions and competing theories regarding the origins of "O.K.", including its initial uses as a slogan and shorthand.
II The Historical Background of OK: Investigates the historical context of the term, specifically evaluating the 1840 political campaign against earlier evidence found in late 1830s newspapers and documents.
Keywords
O.K., Etymology, American Speech, Andrew Jackson, Old Kinderhook, 1840 political campaign, Abbreviations, Slang, History of English, Woodford A. Heflin, Allan Walker Read, Linguistic development, Journalism, Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Gazette
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research?
The work focuses on the etymology of the term "O.K." and investigates the various claims regarding its origins in American history.
What are the primary themes explored in the text?
The primary themes include the influence of 19th-century political campaigns on language, the prevalence of abbreviations in that era, and the critical assessment of historical linguistic evidence.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to disprove the widely held "Old Kinderhook" theory and demonstrate that "O.K." existed prior to the 1840 election campaign.
What scientific methods are applied?
The author uses historical linguistics, comparative analysis of contemporary press reports, and citation of established linguistic studies to verify or refute etymological claims.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the critique of the "Old Kinderhook" theory, the analysis of specific 19th-century newspapers like the Baltimore Sun, and the study of the broader culture of abbreviations in the 1830s.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include O.K., Etymology, 1840 political campaign, linguistic history, and the work of researchers like Heflin and Read.
Why is the 1840 political campaign significant for the term O.K.?
The 1840 campaign popularized the term because both political parties, the Whigs and the Democrats, attempted to appropriate it for their own political agendas and discredit their opponents using it.
How did early 19th-century newspaper editors contribute to the term's evolution?
Newspaper editors documented the "short-hand phraseology" used by Wall Street brokers and businessmen, providing concrete evidence that "O.K." was already in use before the political usage began.
What role did Andrew Jackson's supposed illiteracy play in the history of O.K.?
The Whigs used the narrative of Jackson’s alleged illiteracy to invent the "Oll Korrect" (O.K.) joke, aiming to portray him as uneducated and discredit the Democratic party.
What does the evidence from the Philadelphia Gazette suggest?
The evidence from 1839 suggests that O.K. was already part of a professional "shorthand" vocabulary among brokers and bankers long before it became a political buzzword.
- Quote paper
- Dr. phil. Volker Beckmann (Author), 1978, The Etymology of OK, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/501419
