copacetic

[dovin39]

Copacetic may have links to kol b'tzedek, but these are not Yiddish words, they are Hebrew, a very different language

[tapoensgen]

I am fairly certain that the origin of copacetic is related to the extensive use of syncopation in jazz music. Since syncopation refers to something irregular in music - broadly speaking - copacetic is effectively an antonym, i.e. something smooth. I confirmed this theory of mine with an elderly former jazz producer, who had worked with many of the late great jazz musicians.

[Philip Hudson]

To dovin39: Hebrew and Yiddish are not the same language, as you say. But they are not totally different. I understand that some Jews write Yiddish with the Hebrew alphabet. Yiddish is a "made up language", perhaps a creole, made from Hebrew and primarily German by European Jews. The Jews have given the world many spiritual, cultural, scientific, and intellectual gifts; and I am forever grateful to them. But that does not extend to Yiddish. I consider it to be a very gloomy and negative language full of negative words, many of which have somehow gained themselves a place in English. I never knowingly use a Yiddish-English word although I have a good knowledge of them. I am not a Hebrew or Yiddish scholar and only a weak German scholar. But I know English “perty good” (in Southern talk).

My response: I do not believe there is any credible evidence as to the origin of copacetic. It is such a positive word that I hardly think it could come from Yiddish. In my experience, the word is rarely used. It came late into my vocabulary and I learned it from WWII veterans. I thought it was a word peculiar to the military until I was much older. I never had the pleasure of knowing Bo Jangles or even who he was. I am, after all, an ignorant country boy.

I think it is a neat word and should command greater currency. I am going to use it more often.

Philip Hudson

[tapoensgen]

Philip, I agree with you entirely. I speak fluent German and my Yiddish isn't bad either. Copacetic is an entirely ungermanic word in all its syllabic components and that would typically extend to Yiddish as well. Etymologically, it is also highly unlikely for such a word to find its way into the jazz community. I refer to my earlier explanation.

Tobias