OK

 OK \oh-kay\

(source)

 OK is yet another word, born from slang, that is incredibly popular and widespread, yet where exactly it came from is up for debate. The generally accepted story is that it dates to 1839 and comes from the initial letters of oll korrect ("all correct"). It's a remnant of a New England slang fad where deliberate, jocular misspellings of common phrases were abbreviated. Another example of this is KG for "no go," spelled "know go." From there it was popularized by the O.K. Club, a New York booster group for President Martin Van Buren's 1840 re-election bid in allusion to his nickname Old Kinderhook. The initials stuck as a way to write approval on documents.
Some believe (including President Woodrow Wilson, who spelled it okeh) that OK comes from an alleged Choctaw word oke, meaning "it is." Others have posited that it comes from French au quai, Scottish English och aye, or some word in Wolof brought over during slavery. All of these theories lack credible documentation to back them up.

Interested in how OK spread throughout the US and the world? There's actually a book* about it.

*I have no affiliation with this book, in fact I haven't even read it (yet). But I saw it on Amazon and wanted to share.

Portend

Portend \por-TEND\ , verb;
1. To indicate (events, misfortunes, etc.) as in future; to foreshadow; to bode

This word dates to the early 15th century from Latin portendere, which means "foretell," but its original meaning was "to stretch forward" from por- + tendere ("forth, forward" + "to stretch, extend").

I always like the word bode, so I went ahead and looked that up too. It comes from Old English bodian ("proclaim, announce, foretell") from boda ("messenger"). It probably comes from Proto-Germanic *budon-, which derives from Proto-Indo-European *bheudh- ("be aware, make aware"), which is also the forebear of bid.

Kingpin

Kingpin \KING-pin\ , noun;
1. The person of chief importance in a corporation, movement, undertaking, etc.

Between a Rolling Stone article about a Texas-born drug lord, a Playboy article about a big female Meth dealer, and the Breaking Bad marathon my husband and I have been watching, kingpin has been popping up quite a bit lately. In fact, with the decades-long drug US drug war this word seems to be relatively common, which is why I was surprised at the dearth of information about the word in the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED offers no etymology and lists just two definitions:
     1. The tallest (central) pin in the game of kayles
     2. That which holds together any complex system or arrangement; also, the most important or outstanding person in a party, organization, etc.

Other sources list a couple more definition, notably the bowling one ("the headpin" or "the #5 pin") and a mechanical definition ("either of the pins that are part of the mechanism for turning the front wheels in some automotive steering systems").
The oldest usage of this word dates to 1801 and it's the first OED definition listed above. It's a combination of king (as in "chief, main") and pin (referring to the pins used in the game). I'd guess that the fact that a kingpin is the tallest and most central pin in this game leads pretty directly into the other definitions. So, if the most central and noteworthy person in an organization is the one running things, he or she is therefore the kingpin.

Sapid

Sapid \SAP-id\ , adjective;
1. Having taste or flavor, especially having a strong pleasant flavor
2. Agreeable to the mind; to one's liking

This word dates to the 1630's from Latin sapidus ("savory"), which derives from sapere ("to taste, have taste, be wise") from the Proto-Indo-European base *sep- ("to taste, perceive").

Shanghai

Shanghai \SHANG-hahy\ or \shang-HAHY\ , verb;
1. To enroll or obtain (a sailor) for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means, as by force or the use of liquor or drugs

I watched a cable show yesterday about the history of opiates in America. It wasn't very good, but I noticed that they explained that the definition of the word shanghaied originated from people being robbed while high and passed out in opium dens. The Chinese city Shanghai lent its name to this practice because opium dens were mainly Chinatown businesses. I was under the impression that being shanghaied meant something else entirely. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, I was right.

The only definitions the trusty, rusty OED offers have to do with kidnapping. Now, opium dens were probably great places to rob AND shanghai people, but the two crimes are not one in the same. This US nautical slang word was first attested in 1871.

Lionize

Lionize \LY-uh-nyz\ , transitive verb;
1. To treat or regard as an object of great interest or importance

This word is first attested in 1825 as an intransitive verb "to see the 'lions' of a place." It preserves the sense of lion meaning "person of note who is much sought-after," which dates to the early 1700's in reference to the lions once kept in the Tower of London.

Lion dates tot he late 12th century from Old French lion from Latin leonem, which was borrowed from Greek leon. The source of the Greek term is a non-Indo-European language, possibly Semitic. Most European languages use a form that was borrowed from an older Germanic word.

Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Saturday, September 24
Etymologies come from the Oxford English Dictionary and/or Etymonline.com

Copacetic

Copacetic \koh-puh-SET-ik\ , adjective, verb;
1. Very satisfactory; fine

This American slang word is first attested in 1919 and is of unknown origin. Most of the Oxford English Dictionary citations connect the word with African American or prison culture, so it's not very surprising that the origin isn't documented.

Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Friday, September 23
Etymologies come from the Oxford English Dictionary and/or Etymonline.com