"O.K." in Green's Dictionary of Slang

[Shapiro, Fred]

I have had my first look at Green's Dictionary of Slang, and it appears to be excellent.  Green seems to have monitored the ADS-L list serv, and to have picked up most of the antedatings posted here.  I haven't yet ascertained the extent to which he used online searching to find first uses.

I am very interested to see that, under _O.K._, he has two citations earlier than the standard 1839 first use discovered by Allen Walker Read.  One is a usage of _O ki!_ dated 1816, and one is a usage of "O K---" from 1823.  I am curious what our slang authorities such as Jon Lighter and Jesse Sheidlower think of these.  Are they new discoveries?  Should they be accepted as the earliest uses of _O.K._ without even square brackets, as Green seems to accept them?  If they are accepted, do they affect the etymology?  (Green agrees with Read that "orl korrect" is the derivation.)

Fred Shapiro

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