Sunday, November 4, 2012

Copacetic

Copacetic, an adjective, means harmonious, in sync, satisfactory, and acceptable. The origin of the word is subject of debate, but many believe that the word originated in the early 1900’s in the Southern US in the form of African American slang.  It was used by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and by Jazz musicians in Harlem.  Irving Bacheller also used the word in his 1919 biography of Abraham Lincoln titled -  A Man for the Ages.  Other suggested origins are Italian, French Creole and Latin.  

In a sentence: 

When the doctor entered the room, her smile told me that everything is copacetic.  

Here are a few more:  

“Now there’s the kind of a man! Stout as a buffalo an’ as to looks I’d call him, as ye might say, real copasetic.” Mrs. Lukins expressed this opinion solemnly and with a slight cough. Its last word stood for nothing more than an indefinite depth of meaning.   A Man for the Ages, by Irving Bacheller, 1919

The first stages of the flight of Apollo 10, like most of the flights that led up to it, have gone like clockwork. In the words of ground control at Houston, everything has been “copacetic” — a term of undetermined origin which means perfect.  Chicago Tribune, 20, May 1969

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