m'kay

Definition

Okay; an expression of acknowledgment or affirmation, now sometimes used in an ironic or condescending sense.

Etymology

Nasalized variant of okay. Perhaps popularized by Mr. Mackey's catchphrase in South Park; earlier, apparently chiefly in linguistic transcriptions of speech.

Example Sentences

• "In these tutoring sessions we have found that, when the tutor agrees with the student’s displayed understanding, her signal of confirmation comes quickly after the student’s turn, as in: S. Mkay. hh. And I know it’s negative, just to follow your thought process, because I know that the sine is positive."
• "… the director would go on only when both were satisfied the matcher had understood, as here: D. The long view of the quad uh walkway M. those M. ┌ numbers right? D. └ is number 5 M. Mkay D. Yeah with the numbers on the bottom."
• "1995, Charles Conrad and Lucinda Sinclair-James, “Institutional Pressures, Cultural Constraints, and Communication in Community Mediation Organizations,” in Conflict and Organizations, Anne Maydan Nicotera ed. M1: Mkay. Let me point us back to. This is related to um what we were talking about and how you’re going to um sort of report what happened here tonight."