Name: “OK”的由來到底是什麼？ (What is the origin of the word 'OK'?)
Uploaded: 2021-01-20T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 1 min 50 s

關係子句

There have been numerous attempts to explain the emergence of this expression, which swept into popular use in the US during the mid 19th century.

有眾多的說法來解釋這個表示法的出現，它是在美國 19 世紀中期開始被廣泛使用的。

It doesn't seem at all likely from linguistic and historical evidence that it finds its origins in any of the following:

根據語言學以及歷史論證，以下都不太可能是它的由來：

The Scots expression 'och aye', the Greek 'ola kala' meaning 'it is good'.

蘇格蘭語的「och aye」，希臘語的「ola kala」，意指「這好」。

The Choctaw Indian'oke' or 'okeh' meaning 'it is so'.

印地安喬克托族語的「oke」或「okeh」，意指「這是如此」。

The French 'aux Cayes' which means from 'from Cayes', a port in Haiti with a reputation for good rum.

法語的「aux Cayes」，意指來自以海地一個以優質蘭姆酒聞名的港口「萊凱」。

'au quai' meaning 'to the quay', supposedly used by French-speaking dockers.

「au quai」意指「到碼頭」，據說是說法語的港口工人用語。

Or even the initials of a railway freight agent called Obediah Kelly, who is said to have written them on documents he had checked.

或來自一位名叫 Obediah Kelly 的鐵路貨運經理人的名字縮寫，據說他會把縮寫寫在他檢查完的文件上。

A more likely explanation is that the term originated as an abbreviation of 'orl korrekt', a jokey misspelling of 'all correct', which was current in the US in the 1830s.

一個更相符的解釋是起源自「orl korrekt」的縮寫，有人開玩笑得拼錯了「all correct」，流行於 1830 年代的美國。

The oldest known written references to 'OK' result from its use as a slogan by the Democratic Party during the American presidential election of 1840.

據悉「OK」最古老的參考文獻是來自 1840 美國總統大選民主黨所用的標語。

Their candidate, President Martin Van Buren was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, after his birthplace in New York State, and his supporters formed the 'OK club'.

總統候選人馬丁·范布倫出生於紐約州，綽號為 Old Kinderhook，他的支持者還創了一個「OK 俱樂部」。

This undoubtedly helped popularize the term, although it did not get president Van Buren re-elected.

雖然馬丁·范布倫後來並沒有重選上，但這無疑是替這個詞增加了不少人氣。

The only other theory with at least a degree of plausibility, is that the term originated amongst black slaves of West African origin and represents a word meaning 'all right, yes indeed' in various West African languages.

另一個也蠻有道理的解釋是來自西非的黑奴，這個字在西非許多種語言中意指「可以、是的沒錯」。

Unfortunately, historical evidence enabling the origin of this expression to be finally and firmly established, is hard to unearth.

可惜的是，可以一勞永逸地確定這個表示法的來源證據很難被發掘。