A Conversation for Legends of the Word 'OK'
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Wal Started conversation Mar 18, 2002
But if "OK" is an abbreviation of "Okay", most of these theories are not OK...
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Fragilis - h2g2 Cured My Tabular Obsession Posted Mar 18, 2002
I remember reading something to that effect. The spelling "OK" was used long before the phonetic "okay" was substituted.
My guess is that "okay" was born from people's honest annoyance at being asked was the abbreviation "OK" stands for. After all, nobody's 100% sure. 
Okay OK
Not Shakespeare Posted Mar 18, 2002
I remember reading that OK appeared in print first, by a long time.
Okay OK
Oberon2001 (Scout) Posted Dec 29, 2002
is it just me, or is this entry *very* American! All the explanations that are American appear in the top half of the entry (and treated as more credible as a result) whereas the entries in the bottom half (largely from overseas from the land of hope and steaming cow pat) are in the bottom half and dismissed. Most surprising of all is that the OED reason is dismissed!
Oberon2001
Okay OK
Not Shakespeare Posted Dec 30, 2002
It is very American - as is the term.
Cecil Adams claims that the issue is firmly solved:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250
The "oll korrect" is documented as first appearing in print in March of 1839 in Boston. The term was then pressed into service the next year by the Democrats for their canidate "Old Kinderhook", which gave it a wide range of popularity.
None of the other legends can show OK in print before March 1839.
Okay OK
Recumbentman Posted Mar 29, 2003
This is definitive by any standards. Time to rewrite the entry.
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