WORD OF THE DAY: “COPACETIC”
co·pa·cet·ic/ˌkōpəˈsetik/
etym. 1919, American Slang
| Adjective: | In excellent order; very satisfactory. |
| Synonyms: |
delightful – fine – hunky-dory – mellow – unpresumptuous
|
My father came up through the Depression. He was like a hobo for a long time, on a freight car, traveling through twenty-one states. His whole attitude was, there are three sides to every story, so you gotta make sure everything is copacetic before you commit.~Danny DeVito, “What I’ve Learned”
The unknown intrigues me more than the known and the word, COPACETIC, tickles my brain. It is certainly not a word or slang term I hear or read often. Therefore, I looked into my Google-crystal ball and this is what I found out about the charming word that is fun to roll off the tongue and lips:
- Originated around 1919
- References to Italian, Creole or Hebrew origin.
- Associated with jazz, prison, street slang.
- Derivative “kopasetee” used by French Creole of Louisiana.
- Derivative “kol b’tzedek”; a Hebrew expression meaning “all in order/all with justice.”
- Derivative “copasenee,” a Chinook term meaning “all is satisfactory.”
Regardless of where COPACETIC originated (or why it originated), the energy behind its nine simple letters brings a hunky-dory mellowness to my day! I am smitten with the word, COPACETIC, and am certain it will become my daily motto: Keep’n it Copa!