"Ofay" etymology (speculative)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

Quoted by Barry Popik:

>(OED)
>U.S. slang (orig. and chiefly in African-American usage). Chiefly derogatory
>or depreciative.
>  [Origin unknown. A large number of etymologies have been suggested (as in
>quots. 1932, 1977), but none are convincing; for summaries see J. E. Lighter
>Hist. Dict. Amer. Slang (1997) II. s.v., and Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996)
>III. s.v.]     A. n. A white person. Cf. FAY n.4
>
>   [1898 Freeman (Indianapolis) 8 Oct. 5/1 ‘Ofay’ Brooks sends regards
> to ‘
>Snapper’ Edmonds.] 1899 Freeman (Indianapolis) 2 Sept. 5/5 London
>Letter... All
>the boys seem to like this side of th [sic] water... ‘Jiw-wauks’ are
>scarce,
>but ‘O-fays’ are plentiful. 1925 Inter-State Tattler 6 Mar. 8 We hear
>that ‘
>Booker Red’ has three ofays on his staff. ....
>
>     B. adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a white person; white.
>
>   1911 Adventure Jan. 446, I saw a mardi-gras suit of clothes that might
> have
>been ‘ofay’ on a negro minstrel. 1927 Amer. Mercury Dec. 392 Ugly people
>there are, certainly, but the percentage of beautiful folk is unquestionably
>larger than among the ofay brethren. ....
>
>(WWW.PAPEROFRECORD.COM)
>
>15 October 1920, THE AFRO AMERICAN, pg. 9, col. 4:
>Mr. Editor, I think it would be a goof ifea to warn our people through your
>publication of this Northern ofay's (so-called white) boast how easily he is
>getting rich off the profits to be made from our people. ....

So "ofay" = "white person" is found as early as 1920. Is this the earliest
example yet definitely identified?

The 1898 citation above, properly bracketed, gives no definite indication
of the sense of "Ofay".

The 1899 citation also fails to show the sense of "O-fay". If I knew what
was meant by a "Jiw-wauk" I might be able to guess what was meant by an
"O-fay". Is more extensive context available? Superficially it does not
seem natural that a visitor to London (England) would write home that there
were plenty of white people there, but maybe this makes sense in the
overall context.

The 1911 citation is (I believe) probably NOT an example of "ofay" =
"white". I believe "ofay" here is likely an atypical spelling of "au fait",
possibly 'eye dialect' or possibly just an alternative spelling
occasionally used in those days.

Oops, there's the ancestor of "ofay" = "white", maybe.

"Au fait" has been considered as a possible etymon of "ofay" previously,
but "au fait" taken as meaning "expert" (HDAS) does not provide any
convincing semantic connection. However, MW3 (for example) shows another
sense of "au fait" = "socially correct"/"proper"/"in good form". I believe
this likely arose from an error (probably for "comme il faut" [e.g.,
according to MW2]). This term was quite frequent in the late 19th and early
20th century newspapers.

In practice, newspaper search shows that "au fait" most often meant
"fashionable" but of course this foreignism came in for jokes and sarcasm
and I believe "au fait" sometimes implied excessive or ludicrous
fashion-consciousness. It's a short step to the connotation of
superciliousness, affectation, class-consciousness: a plausible theme for
the ancestor of "ofay" = "white person" (perhaps the original race-linked
application was to remarkably hoity-toity la-di-da white persons or white
'city slickers', but [especially] in those days of segregation etc. the
broader application would seem likely to have followed quickly).

In the above 1911 citation, I think "ofay" = "au fait" meaning "stylish" or
"appropriate". I cannot see how "ofay" = "white" could fit unless there's
additional context (HDAS has a slightly longer citation indicating that the
clothes in question "were made of wonderfully figured stuff and had red
lapels").

In the 1899 citation "o-fay" might mean "dude" or "dandy", or maybe
something else (maybe even "white person"). I hope Jesse or somebody else
can provide more context.

In the 1898 citation "Ofay" = "Stylish"/"Dude" would fit OK (so would a lot
of other things, of course).

A few little jokes on "au fait" = "stylish":

----------

_Iowa Recorder_, 23 Feb. 1910, p. 4(?): <<Harper's Bazaar says it is
entirely au fait, eclat, elite, and de riguer [sic], which is good enough
for us.>>

----------

_Decatur [IL] Review_, 29 Sep. 1882, p. 2(?): <<After eating a considerable
amount do not arise and unbuckle your vest strap in order to get more room,
as it is exceedingly au fait and dishabille.>>

----------

_Newark [OH] Daily Advocate_, 3 June 1893, p. 2: <<But if these young
gentlemen are equally suitable partis (is that term au fait, en regle,
comme ci-comme ca, my dear?) why don't you let Daisy make the choice herself?>>

----------

In summary, I believe "au fait" = "stylish" (presumably with extension to
"supercilious/affected [person]") is a good candidate ancestor of "ofay" =
"white". It was current at the right time; it is phonetically exactly
right; the semantic connection is reasonably plausible.

-- Doug Wilson