So which form of "ok" is the best? Lowercase ok? Uppercase OK? Okay spelled out?
I tend to go with "okay" when writing, but I was curious as to whether one was more grammatically correct than the rest. Even though I use "okay" it doesn't make sense to me, because really it's just o and k. On the other hand, it seems more formal (perhaps because it's spelled out) so that's just what I go with.
Thoughts?
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37,927 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 07 19
OK is my preferred usage of Okay, but it's ok if you use one of the other ways of writing it. I find lowercase ok difficult to read, but that's just me. I'm sure others will find it's perfectly... all right.
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8,327 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 08 18
I've always wondered about the origins of the term, because it doesn't seem like a word. It isn't; at least, it didn't start out that way. Pointless research is a fun form of procrastination!
50,048 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 08 42
American Heritage Dictionary has OK as the main entry (commonest form), listing okay as a variant. Lower-case ok is not listed.
----------Tom L Waters
Cuyamungue, New Mexico, USA
40,259 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 11 47
I use "okay" because "OK" looks lazy to me. I'd think both were acceptable, though. Lower-case "ok" looks weird to me.
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nov. 3, 2009 - 14 32
O.K.: oll korrect.
Around the mid-1800's in America (or 'M'r'ca in the modern vernacular) on the East Coast, there was a fad of making stupid-seeming misspellings of words and abbreviating them to make new words of the acronyms. This is similar to some of the misuses adapted to modern ironical speech, such as /teh/, /pown/ or /zo-my-god/. O.K. is unusual of these words in that it stuck, which is a travesty largely credited to a political campaign at the time that called itself the O.K. Club after the leader's pseudonym, Old Kinderhook--which just goes further to demonstrate what a bother politicians are to the civilised and refined members of American society. Now they are fond of the reverse-acronym, so one might wait for an agency near-by to establish a division called V.I.P.E.R. to hunt the drug ring of a cartel known as el Mangosta no doubt, because vipers sound cool and dangerous. That would be just rich.
O.K., ok, and okay are all proper and accepted spellings; OK should be avoided to keep from confusion with the abbreviation of Oklahoma, but it is often still used.
----------"How Lovely is death; and niggardly it is doled out."
28,907 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 04 27
OK and okay are both considered correct usage. But "OK" bugs me because a.) it stands out too much on the page, especially considering how inconsequential the word is in most contexts, and b.) it's the postal code for Oklahoma.
Nevertheless, I still see "OK" used in a lot of published books.
I'm an "okay" person, myself.
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27,529 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 04 48
Reading a lower-cased 'ok' makes me think of the emails I get from clients and collegues. Usually from the people who also initial their name at the end of the email. "Sure, that's ok. Thx. B."
I agree with 'OK' as being too intrusive on the page. So yeah, it's 'okay' for me.
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35,016 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 08 41
Sorry to be abrupt, but...that's what the dictionary is for. ;-)
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0 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 12 33
The original question was which is best.
Modern dictionaries typically do not attempt to explain which is best but rather how a word is spelled or pronounced (this is what style guides are for). They include some definitions, but the current method of defining words is mimsy. Often the dictionary might be unhelpful in determining what is good or best without some better knowledge.
So, his question was fair. Had he rather asked how to spell the word, we should have all replied www.dictionary.com .
----------"How Lovely is death; and niggardly it is doled out."
46,050 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 14 05
I prefer "okay", myself. "OK" just looks outdated to me. It might have started out as a misspelled acronym, but it's turned into a "real word" now. And furthermore, it can be used as a verb. "He okayed my project." That sort of usage would just look even more wrong as "He OKed my project" or the like. (The sort of usage that would get people wondering whether they should spell it "OK'd" "OK'ed" or other equally ugly and clumsy suggestions.)
45,034 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 20 05
If don't have a copy here, but I think the Chicago Style Manual says to use 'okay' in almost all cases.
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0 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 21 10
"Okay" is best. Ok, ok, and OK are informal, and messy.
43,798 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 21 40
I use "okay". I only use ok for text messages sometimes, but never OK.
Okay just looks good to me.