copacetic: difference between revisions
RobotGMwikt (talk | contribs) m robot Adding: zh |
added etymology from wikipedia article |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
==English== |
==English== |
||
===Etymology=== |
===Etymology=== |
||
| ⚫ | |||
'''Copacetic''' is an unusual English language word in that it is one of the few words of unknown origin that is not considered slang in contemporary usage. Its use is found almost exclusively in North America. Its most likely origin comes from African American slang in the late 19th century. The earliest known usage given in the [[wikipedia:Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford English Dictionary]] is from 1919: |
|||
:1919 I. BACHELLER Man for Ages iv. 69 ‘As to looks I'd call him, as ye might say, real copasetic.’ Mrs. Lukins expressed this opinion solemnly... Its last word stood for nothing more than an indefinite depth of meaning. |
|||
Alternatively, copacetic may have originated from [[wikipedia:Chinook Jargon|Chinook Jargon]], a trade language used in the Pacific Northwest to communicate between tribes, and European traders. The preposition "kopa" is very common in the language, and "Kopasetty" may have been used to mean "doing just fine". This theory is mentioned in an online [http://www.fortlangley.ca/Chinook%20Jargon/greet.html Chinook Dictionary]. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
===Adjective=== |
===Adjective=== |
||
Revision as of 23:39, 14 June 2006
English
Etymology
Copacetic is an unusual English language word in that it is one of the few words of unknown origin that is not considered slang in contemporary usage. Its use is found almost exclusively in North America. Its most likely origin comes from African American slang in the late 19th century. The earliest known usage given in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1919:
- 1919 I. BACHELLER Man for Ages iv. 69 ‘As to looks I'd call him, as ye might say, real copasetic.’ Mrs. Lukins expressed this opinion solemnly... Its last word stood for nothing more than an indefinite depth of meaning.
Alternatively, copacetic may have originated from Chinook Jargon, a trade language used in the Pacific Northwest to communicate between tribes, and European traders. The preposition "kopa" is very common in the language, and "Kopasetty" may have been used to mean "doing just fine". This theory is mentioned in an online Chinook Dictionary.
Another theory is that it comes from Hebrew via Yiddish and into English phrases, originally from hakol b’seder, “all is in order”, or kol b’tzedek, “all's with justice”.
Adjective
copacetic
- Fine, excellent, going just right, swell.