Word History: 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 t