Dictionary

copacetic en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /kəʊ.pəˈsɛt.ɪk/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˌkoʊ.pəˈsɛt.ɪk/ (General-American)

Etymology

Stephen Goranson says "there is good reason to think that Irving Bacheller invented the word [with the spelling copasetic] for a fictional character with a private vocabulary in his best-selling and later-serialized 1919 book about Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, A Man for the Ages", and its currency increased by use in the 1920 song "At the New Jump Steady Ball" (see quotation below). Alternatively, it has been speculated that it may have originated among African Americans in the Southern US in the late 19th or early 20th century, perhaps specifically in the jargon of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who certainly helped popularize it in any case. Many hypotheses about its origin (etymon) exist, all lacking supporting evidence: Possible origins * That it derives from Cajun French coup esètique / coupersètique (“capable of being coped with successfully; able to cope with anything and everything”). * That it derives from a word *copasetti used by Italian speakers in New York. * That it derives from Chinook Jargon copasenee (“everything is satisfactory”) — if the Chinook Jargon term is not itself derived from English. * The common suggestion that the term derives from Hebrew הכל בסדר (hakól b'séder, “everything is in order”) has been rejected, as has the fanciful suggestion that it derives from criminals' observation that they could go about their business because "the cop is on the settee".

Meanings

1. (US, slang) Fine, excellent, OK, in excellent order.
   • ["][…]an' as to looks I'd call him, as ye might say, real copasetic." Mrs. Lukins expressed this opinion solemnly and with a slight cough. Its last word stood for nothing more than an indefinite depth of meaning.[…] There was one other word in her lexicon which was in the nature of a jewel to be used only on special occasions. It was the word "copasetic". 1919, Irving Bacheller, A Man for the Ages: A Story of the Builders of Democracy, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, pages 69 and 287:
   • I keep it real, niggas better keep it copacetic 2018, “Open Letter”, in Tha Carter V, performed by Lil Wayne:
   • Extract of lemon and ginger ale / Sweet pertuna with shoe polish, then you're bound for jail / "Copacetic" was the password for one and all / The new Jump Steady ball 1920, “At the New Jump Steady Ball”, performed by Ethel Waters:
   • Count the cash, clean the oven, dump the trash, oh your loving is a rare and a copacetic gift. 1976, “I Can’t Wait to Get Off Work (and See My Baby on Montgomery Avenue)”, performed by Tom Waits:
   • It’s a shame those boys couldn’t be more copacetic. 1987, “West L.A. Fadeaway”, performed by Grateful Dead:
   • Colombia and Brazil were supposed to be more copacetic. 2014 July 5, Sam Borden, “For bellicose Brazil, payback carries heavy price: Loss of Neymar [International New York Times version: Brazil and referee share some blame for Neymar's injury: Spaniard's failure to curb early pattern of fouls is seen as major factor (7 July 2014, p. 13)]”, in The New York Times:
   • We’re only a few months into the Congress, and there are plenty of opportunities for bigger gulfs to appear; partisans agree on most things most of the time because most votes aren’t on hot-button issues. Nor does it make sense to pretend that everything’s copacetic. 2019 July 12, David A. Graham, “The Overhyped Feud Between Nancy Pelosi and AOC”, in The Atlantic:
   • Molly-squally, Miss Molly / Yeah, everything copacetic, now 1967, “Niki Hoeky”, in Enigma, performed by P. J. Proby:

Forms

Deriveds

copa

Translations (24)

nl geniaal (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · es estupendo (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · es copasético (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · nl zeer tevreden (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · de OK (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · ru отли́чный (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · nb fantastisk (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · de genial (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · es genial (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · bg отли́чен (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · es requetebueno (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · nl ok (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · es impeque (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · ro grozav (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · nl super (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · he בסדר (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · fr super (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · fr extra (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · de super (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · fi jees (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · nb topp (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · nl extra (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · fr génial (fine, excellent, going just right, swell) · pt supimpa (fine, excellent, going just right, swell)