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

[Jonathan Lighter]

Just what are these citations, Fred?
JL

On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 4:16 PM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:

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> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      "O.K." in Green's Dictionary of Slang
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> 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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