The ‘O’ word !!!

We all use a lot of ‘O’ words. Well what does ‘O’ stand for? It means different things for different people. And sometimes, just the opposite. It's the same sphere that makes for a zero in your answer paper and the same sphere that means you are a hero when it appears in your grade column in the report card: O for Outstanding.

It's the same O that comes out when there's a cheer - as the song goes, "O Podu." The same O that comes out of frustration - Oh! The same O that comes out of oomph - Ooooh! And the same O that stands for pain - Ooh! Aah! And Ouch!

But everybody's favourite O on campus is for anything that you get free or when you get somebody else to pay for you - O.C.! Here's a little etymological background that we managed to get our hands on.
Legend has it that British officials in pre-independent India used to send official documents in envelopes that were marked On Company Service, which meant no stamps had to be affixed. Slowly, this was abbreviated to OCS and the initials were corrupted over the years and `O.C.' slowly joined the language.

The most common O word on campus is for anything and everything you understand or want to pretend to understand.The word that most listeners use for their bit of conversation and to describe anything that is average or decent. Or when something is approved. O for O.K.

Since, we are on our gyaan mode, here's more etymological background. The most accepted origin is its derivation from Orl Korrekt, a corruption of All Correct. However, other theories indicate it could be a corruption of the French word au quai or d'accord, which means `Agreed' (Accord... Acco... Occo... Ok, get it now?). The Americans used the word `okeh.' And the Scottish believe its derives its genesis from `Och Aye.' Ever since, it has also been spelt `Okay' and been further corrupted to Okie or Okie-dokie! Not all etymologists agree on all these theories. But who cares, right? It's Orl Kool, these days! Most students in the city, however, use the local pronunciation: Wokay!

The third most-used O word on campus is very similar to the first two - its called O.B. Origins unknown. But the word O.B. refers to someone who idles away his time and gets away with it. Most students fall under this category. Some students, however, insist that the word O.B. has to do with unmentionable foul words. So foul that it could get them expelled from college, they say. A conservatively, approximate translation would mean `messing around,' we hear.

There is also a mysterious O word that most college students use while starting off a string of abuses - it interestingly sounds very same as `What the hell' or `What the heck' but it does not mean the same. It's another foul word, they say.
O Oh!

Courtesy: The Hindu