copacetic

eberntson
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copacetic

Postby eberntson » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:15 pm

I suggested this as a word of the day, but since it's source is a mystery I thought I would ask here what people know about this word. American slang circa 1919.

I use it in the context that everything is running just fine and I have no complaints. I probably picked it up from my father (Chicago born), or from a movie. Anyone remember which movie it is used in?

Variation: "copasetic"
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns

skinem
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Postby skinem » Sun Apr 01, 2007 2:22 pm

I had heard somewhere that the word gained popularity after a president (Harding? Coolidge?) used it in a radio address. That would put it in the same time frame you're talking about.
Sorry--I can't find any documentation of that, though.

bnjtokyo

Postby bnjtokyo » Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:09 am

The Wikipedia has this entry.

Although we know Wikipedia is somewhat unreliable, the OED reference should be verifiable.

Also see this link. Thank you Bojangles.

But finally, I guess no one actually knows.

Bix
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Postby Bix » Wed May 23, 2007 6:00 pm

I seem to remember it from The Breakfast Club. Does that sound right? It has the ring of cool speech for young hip types.

Perry
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Postby Perry » Thu May 24, 2007 9:25 am

I was quite certain that we had discussed this word at length, but I could not find the thread.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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gailr
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Postby gailr » Thu May 24, 2007 4:00 pm

I was quite certain that we had discussed this word at length, but I could not find the thread.
Perry: you must be taking your gingko-biloba again...

copacetic (c/o Palewriter, Aug 08, 2006)

copacetic (c/o Dr. Goodword, Sep 24, 2006)

copacetic (c/o eberntson, Mar 30, 2007) (different thread than this one)

Ha-HA! The real definition is "the word that will not die".

-gailr

Cacasenno
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Postby Cacasenno » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:22 pm

From early Latin capere, late Latin capace, here in Italy we use the word capace meaning able, possible.

Shooting blinded, to my ear the word capacetic would be a likely one in the mouth of an Italian immigrant in his early second stage attempts to spikk inglisc (I am able to do it, I am in a position to do it).
Capacio(u)s would have been his/her first translation mistake, soon corrected.
In your slippers, i would hound around Ellis Island and Broccolyn :roll:

eberntson
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Postby eberntson » Thu Jan 03, 2008 11:40 am

Huh!? That is very interesting, that might explain where my Swedish Grandfather might have picked it up, thus my father. My Grand Father worked for an "Italian" family in Chicago during the depression. The head of the family was eventually put away for tax evasion. <nudge-nudge-wink-wink> :wink:
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns


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