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"Okay" from Japan?

Posted by DGW on October 26, 2003

In Reply to: "Okay" from Japan? posted by ESC on October 26, 2003

: : I was pretty intriqued when I read about the origins of the word "Okay".

: : I always thought it came from the Japanese word: ryoukai.

: : Anyway, I'm curious to know why this is excluded as a possibility? Thanks!

: No one mentioned it before.

"OK" dates from 1839. Not much input from Japanese into English at that time! Newspapers of the time give a pretty good idea of how "OK" evolved.

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