COPACETIC rides again

[Jeffrey Kopp]

I don't doubt that the origin of copacetic may be undeterminable.
But I was glad to find there was some source for my initial
impression, even if it is a misconception, and also interested to
find a purported "Chinook" word ("copasenee") given for its source.

(I thought I had seen it in Nard Jones' book Seattle, but upon
reviewing it some time ago I couldn't find it.  I may have seen it in
something written by the Seattle P-I columnist Emmett Watson.)

J.

On Tue, 3 Jul 2001 14:53:51 -0500, "Alan H. Hartley"
<ahartley at D.UMN.EDU> wrote:

>The Amer. Her. Dict. (3d ed.) has a long note on the origin, mentioning
>several possible sources (not incl. CJ), and concluding that the origin
>is unknown. The OED first records it from 1919.
>
>Alan