10 Everyday Expressions That Are Much Older Than You Think The modern English language is peppered with new terms and abbreviations that did not exist 100, or even 50, years ago. Some of these new terms originated as a result of developments in technology. Others were a response to popular trends within pop culture. But some of the terms we use almost every single day are much older than you can possibly imagine. 10 OK Many origins of “OK” have been suggested, but the most prominent theory is that it started as an editorial joke in 1839. At the time, an easy way to make your article trendy was to fill it with playful abbreviations such as “s.p” (small potatoes). But often, abbreviations used alternate spellings. “O.w,” for example, stood for “oll write,” and “o.k” stood for “oll korrect.”