www.alphadictionary.com

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"

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.

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.

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

I was quite certain that we had discussed this word at length, but I could not find the thread.

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

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

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>