Is OK an acronym or a word?

[chiph]

I had a debate at work about whether OK is an acronym (and thus spelled all upper-case), a word (and thus lower/mixed case), or neither (??).

Opinions?

Chip H.


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[RegistrationMark]

OK=old english for of kourse

 

[MadMichael]

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=OK

OK is an acronym, okay is a word.

 

[columb]

One of the most furious etymological debates is over the origin of OK. Many of the explanations (Oll Korrect for example) make it an acronym, some of the others make it a word in its own right.

Personally I feel that the capitlisation is optional. I'm OK with Ok and vice-versa. I'll even allow 'okay' but it's not my favourite. That's an aesthetic judgement, not an etymological one. If you can find any authorities who claim to know check their sources carefully.

Columb Healy

 

[SamBones]

IMO, "OK" is an acronym because you pronounce each letter. You don't pronounce it like "Awk".

I think "Okay" is okay as a word.

 

[flapeyre]

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250

Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui!

 

[tsdragon]

What would we do without Cecil Adams to straighten things out for us? His discussion makes sense.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[flapeyre]

Cecil is OK by me.

Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui!

 

[Mike Lewis]

Excuse me for jumping in, but I most of you are wrong. In particular, SamBones said:

"OK" is an acronym because you pronounce each letter. You don't pronounce it like "Awk"

This is exactly the opposite of an acronym. An acronym is a word that is made up from the initial letters of a name or phrase. It is always pronounced as a word.

For example, NATO is an acronym. It is pronounced as a word (with two syllables). If it was pronounced N-A-T-O (separate letters), it would be an abbreviation.

NBC is not an acronym; it is always an abbreviation. similarly, UK (it's not pronounced "Uck") and USA (not pronounced "Ewsa") are not acronyms.

OK in not an acronym, on two counts. First, it's not pronounced "Ock" (well, not in these latitudes); secondly, it's not the initial letters of a phrase (as far as I know).

Mike

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Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My Visual FoxPro site: www.ml-consult.co.uk

 

[KenCunningham]

Mike - good points, but I'd take issue with the UK one. Ever heard Johnny Rotten sing about 'Anarchy in the Yeeeeewkaaaaay" ;-)

 

[CajunCenturion]

I agree with Mike, but instead of referring to them as abbreviations, I would call them 'initialisms'.

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[SamBones]

I knew someone was gonna call me on it when I wrote it!

 

[SilentAiche]

So, how do you tell the difference between an acronym and and a word? Context, I suppose.

POOP: People of other Persuasions

Poop: wrecked all expression.

You may need an acronymrod to dislodge a poop, if it's intestinalized. We could discuss the colon, but punctuation is a different thread.

POOPs, of course, should be accepted.

Tim



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[j0ckser]

VERY USEFULL THREAD!

i edit stories as a hobby and have treated ok as a word: where the author has U/C'd it, i have l/c'd it.

now i know. many thanks all.

per ardua ad astra

 

[GwydionM]

Many sheep make sheep. English has habits, but none of them are binding. Whatever its origins, OK has always been writen as such.

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An old man who lives in the UK

 

[CRilliterate]

Does anyone can actually be sure whether it is okay or OK when spoken? So it doesn't matter...OK is international way of communication between people. Hooooray to OK!!!

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I am using Windows XP, Crystal Reports 9.0 with SQL Server

 

[Stella740pl]

Does anyone can actually be sure whether it is okay or OK when spoken? So it doesn't matter...

It's a weird statement you are making.
Can anyone actually be sure if it is "C.R.Illiterate", or "CRilliterate", or "C.R. - illiterate!" when spoken? So it doesn't matter. Or it isn't?

 

[CRilliterate]

it isn't or does not it still negative to matters

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I am using Windows XP, Crystal Reports 9.0 with SQL Server

 

[sleipnir214]

CRilliterate:
I'm sorry, but I can't meaningfully parse "it isn't or does not it still negative to matters". What does the utterance mean?


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[Stella740pl]

sleipnir,

I think it was a reference to the mistake in my last sentence. I said "Or it isn't?" (negative) where I meant to say "Or does it?" (positive, with a different modal verb). Just all punctuation is missing, so if you don't know what it is about, it is hard to parse.