OK gesture#As a white power symbol

File:Buddha dvaravatistyle.jpg statue in Thailand depicting the gesture as Vitarka Mudrā.]]

Ring gestures, formed by forefinger and thumb with remaining digits extended, appear in Greece at least as early as the fifth century BCE, and can be seen on painted vases as an expression of love, with thumb and forefinger mimicking kissing lips. When proffered by one person toward another in Ancient Greece, the gesture was of one professing their love for another, and the sentiment was conveyed more in the touching of fingertips than in the ring that they formed.{{Cite book |last=Müller |first=Cornelia |title=Body – Language – Communication |last2=Cienki |first2=Alan |last3=Fricke |first3=Ellen |last4=Ladewig |first4=Silva |last5=McNeill |first5=David |last6=Tessendorf |first6=Sedinha |date=2014 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=9783110302028 |pages=1511–1522 |chapter=114: Ring-gestures across cultures and times: Dimensions in variation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QAGTBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1511}} As an expression of assent and approval, the gesture can be traced back to first century Rome where the rhetorician Quintilian is recorded as having used it.{{Cite book |last=Tuleja |first=Tad |title=Curious Customs |date=2012 |publisher=Stonesong |isbn=9780985434397 |chapter=2. In the Wink of an Eye: Gestures and Posture}} Quintilian's chironomy prescribed variations in context for the gesture's use during specific points of a speech: to open, give warning or praise or accusation, and then to close a declamation.

Contemporaneously, the sign appeared throughout the Buddhist and Hindu diasporas as a symbol of inner perfection. Ethologist Desmond Morris posits that the joined thumb-and-forefinger communicates precision in grasping something literally or figuratively, and that the shape formed by their union represents the epitome of perfection—a circle—hence the gesture's transcultural message that things are "exactly right" or "perfect".{{Cite book |last=Morris |first=Desmond |author-link=Desmond Morris |title=Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language |date=2012 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781407071497 |pages=49–52 |chapter=Multi-message Gestures |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8B_1PfLTDcMC&pg=PA49}}

In Naples, the gesture has been long used to symbolize love and matrimony, as was custom in neighboring Greece, but specifically with the palm upturned, while the gesture made with a downturned palm represents a hand holding the scales of justice.{{Cite book |last=Elworthy |first=Frederick Thomas |url=https://archive.org/details/evileyeaccountof00elwo |title=The Evil Eye: An Account of this Ancient and Widespread Superstition |date=1895 |publisher=J. Murray |pages=[https://archive.org/details/evileyeaccountof00elwo/page/233 233]–276 |chapter=V11: Touch, Hands, Gestures}} Across Italy, the gesture remained in use as one for making points in conversation when moved about to express discursive precision, but when held still in an upright position with fingers jutting skyward, it became an emblem of perfection.

Early records of the sign's usage in the English-speaking world date to British physician-philosopher John Bulwer's 1644 Chirologia, "The naturall language of the hand composed of the speaking motions, and discoursing gestures thereof."{{Cite web |last=Bulwer |first=John |title=[TCP] Chirologia, or, The naturall language of the hand composed of the speaking motions, and discoursing gestures thereof : whereunto is added Chironomia, or, The art of manuall rhetoricke, consisting of the naturall expressions, digested by art in the hand, as the chiefest instrument of eloquence, by historicall manifesto's exemplified out of the authentique registers of common life and civill conversation : with types, or chyrograms, a long-wish'd for illustration of this argument |url=http://tei.it.ox.ac.uk/tcp/Texts-HTML/free/A30/A30105.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111055406/http://tei.it.ox.ac.uk/tcp/Texts-HTML/free/A30/A30105.html |archive-date=11 January 2019 |access-date=10 January 2019 |website=Oxford University Text Archive |publisher=University of Oxford |location=Oxford}} Among the many hand gestures detailed by Bulwer, he described one as "The top of the fore-finger moved to joyne with the naile of the Thumbe that's next to it, the other fingers in remitter,"{{Cite web |last=Merz |first=Andreas |date=14 October 2010 |title=Embleme im interkulturellen Vergleich: Eine Untersuchung zur Bedeutung von 16 Emblemen in Kolumbien und Deutschland |trans-title=Emblems in intercultural comparison: An investigation of meaning of 16 emblems in Colombia and Germany |url=http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/12638/Diplomarbeit.pdf |url-status=dead |language=de |location=Leipzig |publisher=Institut für Angewandte Linguistik |page=73 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111121412/http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/12638/Diplomarbeit.pdf |archive-date=11 January 2019 |access-date=10 January 2019}} and said that it was "opportune for those who relate, distinguish, or approve".{{Cite book |last=Chetwynd |first=Josh |title=The Book of Nice: A Nice Book about Nice Things for Nice People |date=2013 |publisher=Workman Publishing |isbn=9780761172949 |pages=36–40 |chapter=Okay Sign |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48r5cAVVVDUC&pg=PA36}}

{{Main|OK}}

File:Uncle Sam OK.jpg making the "OK" gesture in a cartoon for the 1900 Paris Exposition]]

By the early 19th century in the United States, the gesture was affiliated with the letters "O" (formed by the circle) and "K" (derived from the extended fingers). While it is not known exactly how the OK gesture and the corresponding verbal expression coalesced, the English professor Allen Walker Read dates the expression's rise in usage to an 1839 humor piece in the Boston Morning Post describing the expression "o.k." as meaning "all correct", suggesting comically misspelled initials, at a time when acronyms for misspelled words were in vogue.{{Cite news |last=Oktent |first=Arika |date=11 April 2013 |title=What's the Real Origin of "OK"? |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/50042/whats-real-origin-ok |access-date=20 November 2018 |work=Mental Floss}} Several other broadsheets in Boston, New York and Philadelphia ran with the expression in their own columns, some with misspellings of "all correct" such as oll korrect, bringing the phrase into the vernacular of American English.

The following year Democrats began using the phrase and its accompanying gesture in support of president Martin Van Buren's campaign for reelection. A native of Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was widely known by his nickname, "Old Kinderhook", whose initials, "O.K.", were steadily gaining traction as an expression of approval.{{Cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Nancy |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetogest0000arms |title=Field Guide to Gestures – How to Identify and Interpret Virtually Every Gesture Known to Man |last2=Wagner |first2=Melissa |publisher=Quirk Books |year=2003 |isbn=9781931686204 |url-access=registration}} In New York City, fans of Van Buren formed the O.K. Democratic Club and used the gesture as its sign, with the slogan of "O.K." bearing the double meaning in the club's catchphrase, "Old Kinderhook is all correct." Both phrase and gesture made their way into newspapers around the country via political cartoons, thus further spreading the expression. After Van Buren's defeat to William Henry Harrison, O.K. was briefly satirized as meaning "Owful Kalamity" or "Owful Katastrophe".{{Cite news |last=Ciardi |first=John |date=9 March 2006 |title=Martin Van Buren Was OK |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5170008 |work=NPR.org |format=Radio}}

As a gesture, its denotation is more positive than the word "OK", which may mean a thing is merely mediocre, satisfactory at only the most basic level, as in, "The food was OK." The gesture is commonly understood as a signal of approval, and is sometimes used synonymously with the Western thumbs up gesture.

File:US Navy 100504-N-9818V-453 Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick West and divers from Southwest Regional Maintenance Center conduct pre-dive checks; hand signal "OK".jpg

In the communication used by scuba divers, the OK sign is specific in its meaning that "everything is OK" as regulated by the Recreational Scuba Training Council. Divers are taught to always use this sign and not the thumbs up gesture because the latter means that a diver needs to ascend.{{Cite news |last=Llewellyn |first=Stevan |date=7 April 2017 |title=Scuba Diving Hand Signals Every Diver Should Know |url=https://www.sportdiver.com/scuba-diving-hand-signals-every-diver-should-know |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822163448/https://www.sportdiver.com/scuba-diving-hand-signals-every-diver-should-know |archive-date=22 August 2021 |access-date=19 September 2018 |work=Sport Diver}} The gesture is also used as a means of checking in, with one diver using it to ask another, "Everything OK?" and the response meaning, "Yes, everything is OK."{{Cite news |last=Mezcua |first=Jorge |date=12 September 2013 |title=Diving signs you need to know |url=https://www.fordivers.com/en/blog/2013/09/12/senales-de-buceo-que-tienes-que-conocer/ |access-date=4 January 2019 |work=ForDivers.com}}

At distances where the standard OK gesture may be hard to see, divers use larger signals as an alternative, either with one hand atop the head and the elbow bent out to the side, or with both hands touching above the head so that the arms form an "O" for "OK".{{Cite web |date=1 December 2005 |title=Minimum Course Content for Common Hand Signals for Scuba Diving |url=http://wrstc.com/downloads/12%20-%20Common%20Hand%20Signals.pdf |access-date=18 September 2018 |publisher=Recreational Scuba Training Council, Inc. (RSTC) (Jacksonville, FL., USA)}} This full-body gesture is also used as "OK" in Japan where the single-handed gesture denotes monetary transactions instead of meaning "OK".{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Philip |date=2 February 2016 |title=6 Emojis That You've Been Using Wrong, And What They Actually Mean |url=https://mic.com/articles/134126/6-emojis-that-you-ve-been-using-wrong-and-their-actual-meanings |access-date=19 November 2018 |quote=This emoji, which some assumed to be a ballerina performing a dance move, was intended to be used to signify an 'OK' gesture. 'It's supposed to be an OK symbol...The girl's arms are above her head because she's making an OK sign with her whole body (i.e. a circle, or large 'O'), which is a Japanese gesture.' Unicode lists the emoji as face with OK gesture.}} This two-armed OK gesture was added to Unicode in 2010 as {{unichar|1F646}} and became part of Emoji 1.0 in 2015.{{Cite web |title=Face With OK Gesture Emoji |url=https://emojipedia.org/face-with-ok-gesture/ |access-date=19 November 2018 |publisher=Emojipedia}}

File:211-04 she is pretty rich.jpg

In Japan, the one-handed ring gesture is used to symbolize money,{{Cite book |last=Parhizgar |first=Kamal Dean |title=Multicultural Behavior and Global Business Environments |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135187132 |location=New York |page=382}} and in this context the fingers' circular shape represents a coin. Sometimes the sign is used to avoid the verbal awkwardness in talking about or asking for money.{{Cite book |last=Kasschau |first=Anne |title=Using Japanese Slang: This Japanese Phrasebook, Dictionary and Language Guide Gives You Everything You Need To Speak Like a Native! |last2=Eguchi |first2=Susumu |date=2015 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=9781462910953 |location=192}} In other contexts, it can be used to imply a bribe or other illicit financial transactions,{{Cite book |last=Nafziger |first=James A. R. |title=Cultural Law: International, Comparative, and Indigenous |last2=Paterson |first2=Robert Kirkwood |last3=Renteln |first3=Alison Dundes |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139489324 |page=133}}{{Cite news |date=18 August 1996 |title=What's A-O.K. in the U.S.A. Is Lewd and Worthless Beyond |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/18/weekinreview/what-s-a-ok-in-the-usa-is-lewd-and-worthless-beyond.html |access-date=15 November 2018 |work=The New York Times}} or signal an invitation to enter into business negotiations.

In other parts of the world the gesture can also express money, financial transactions, wealth or the priciness of an item. Records of the gesture being used to remark on a person's wealth or status are documented as practiced in Mexico during the late nineteenth century.{{Cite book |last=Iglehart |first=Fanny Chambers Gooch |title=Face to Face with the Mexicans |date=1997 |publisher=Fords, Howard, & Hulbert |location=New York |page=211 |chapter=VII. The Mexicans in their Homes}}

File:VitarkaMudra.JPG from the 9th century]]

In yoga, the gesture is known as chin mudra ("the seal of consciousness") when the palm is face down, or jnana mudra ("the seal of wisdom") when the palm is face up or held in other positions, such as in front of the heart. Some schools of yoga use chin and jnana mudra interchangeably, while others claim that "the former produces a subtle feeling of rootedness, the latter a sense of lightness," or that jnana "the passive receiving position" while chin "is an actively giving position".{{Cite book |last=Hirschi |first=Gertrud |title=Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands |date=2016 |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=9781609250584 |pages=139–141}} In these mudras the middle, ring, and little fingers represent the three gunas of rajas, tamas, and sattva which, when in harmony, unite ātman and brahman, or the individual soul and universal soul. The pressing together of the thumb and forefinger represents that union—or "yoga"—of consciousness.{{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=Cain |title=Mudras of India : a Comprehensive Guide to the Hand Gestures of Yoga and Indian Dance |last2=Carroll |first2=Revital |date=2013 |publisher=Singing Dragon |isbn=9781848191099 |edition=Expanded}} In Buddhism the gesture is called vitarka mudra ("the seal of discussion") and is used to emphasize the meaning of words.

Most sign languages combine hand shapes, movement, and position in relation to the rest of body, as well as additional body language and facial expression. As with other hand signs, the OK gesture may be combined with other elements to convey numerous meanings across multiple sign languages.

Dating back to the tenth century in Europe, the gesture of thumb and forefinger forming a ring with the remaining fingers extended was used in a set of standardized ecclesiastical signs employed by Christian monks under vows of silence to represent numerous religious rites and objects. For example, when held out in front of oneself the gesture represented an oblation to God. When touched to the mouth it meant taking a meal. When added to the open-palmed sign for "book" it specified a hymnal, and the sign's O-shape represented the signing of an "O" that began many hymns. If the thumb and forefinger took hold of a specific part of one's own clothing or body such as the hood of a cowl, a lock of hair, or skin on the left hand, the gesture could stand for things as diverse as "monk" or "horse" or "parchment".{{Cite journal |last=Sherlock |first=David |last2=Zajac |first2=William |title=A Fourteenth-Century Monastic Sign List From Bury St Edmunds Abbey |journal=Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History |location=Gloucester |publisher=Alan Sutton Publishing |volume=36 |issue=4 |issn=0262-6004}}

File:Sun Sign.jpg]]

In Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), the gesture signifies the Sun when held up in front of the face or moved in an arc following the Sun's track. When held up to the sky and peered through, it is the sign for high noon.{{Cite web |last=Heikkinen |first=Megan |date=2008 |title=Hand Talk: American Indian Sign Language – Illustrations Index |url=http://www.pislresearch.com/illustindex.html#sun |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825115805/http://www.pislresearch.com/illustindex.html#sun |archive-date=25 August 2019 |access-date=17 September 2018 |website=www.pislresearch.com |publisher=University of Tennessee}} A PISL primer printed in an 1888 issue of the Canadian residential school newspaper Our Forest Children specifies that the left hand be used to indicate sunrise and the right for sunset.{{Cite journal |date=Christmas 1888 |editor-last=Wilson |editor-first=Rev. E.F. |title=Indian Sign Language |url=http://archives.algomau.ca/main/sites/default/files/2009-081_001_001_002.pdf |journal=Our Forest Children |location=Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |volume=II |issue=10 |pages=17–18 |access-date=13 February 2019}} A more complicated series of movements with hands held in the gesture as if drawing a thread or stretching an elastic can signify death, or more specifically, "After a long time, you die."{{Cite book |last=Mallery |first=Garrick |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontos01ethngoog |title=Introduction to the Study of Sign Language Among the North American Indians: As Illustrating the Gesture Speech of Mankind |date=1880 |publisher=US Government Printing Office |location=Washington |pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontos01ethngoog/page/n29 20]–47}}

In modern-day American Sign Language (ASL) the gesture can mean many different things depending on how it is applied. The pinching action of the thumb-and-forefinger frequently represents something small. For example, the sign for "housefly" is made by making the gesture mimic a fly buzzing around.{{Cite book |last=Briant |first=Monta Z. |title=Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers, 3rd Edition |date=2018 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=9781401955632 |chapter=Fly (insect)}} In ASL the gesture can also communicate a selection of some sort: When moved from one side to the other as if picking something up and placing it down, it means "appoint". When the joined thumb and forefinger of the gesture are placed into a hole made by the opposite hand, it means "vote". The sign for "elect" is formed by making the signs for "vote" and "appoint" in succession.{{Cite conference |last=Fay |first=Edward Allen |date=1908 |title=American Annals of the Deaf |conference=Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf and Dumb |location=Washington, DC |volume=53 |page=148}}

File:Sign language F.svg]]

In systems of fingerspelling used in sign languages, the handshape of joined thumb and forefinger represents various letters. The American manual alphabet reserves it for the letter F, while in both Irish and French Sign Languages, it represents the letter G.{{Cite book |last=Stokoe |first=William C. |title=Semiotics and Human Sign Languages |date=1972 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9789027920966 |page=31}} In fingerspellings that represent Cyrillic alphabetical systems, such as the Ukrainian manual alphabet, the gesture represents the vowel O and reflects that letter's shape.{{Cite book |last=Кульбіда |first=C.B. |title=Ukrainian Dactylology: Scientific and Methodical Manual |publisher=Pedagogical Thought |location=Kyiv |page=2007 |language=uk}} Similarly, the Korean manual alphabet uses the gesture for the Hangul letter {{Transliteration|ko|ieung}} to reflect its pronunciation in spoken Korean.{{Cite journal |last=Oh Youung-Joon |last2=Jung Kee-Chul |date=9 August 2009 |title=A Study on the Development of a Korean Manual Alphabet Learning Game with Avatar |journal=Journal of Korea Game Society |pages=67–80}} In yubimoji, Japanese Sign Language's (JSL) manual syllabary, the gesture is the syllable {{Transliteration|ja|me}}.{{Cite web |last=Stainbrook |first=Kaitlin |date=2 March 2016 |title=Japanese Sign Language and Being Deaf in Japan |url=https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-sign-language/ |access-date=20 November 2018 |website=Tofugu}}

Various fingerspelling systems may call for other specific features of the gesture beyond its joined thumb-and-forefinger with remaining fingers entended. For example, the ring in the sign for {{Transliteration|ja|me}} in JSL is slightly tapered rather than rounded.{{Cite book |title=Shin shuwa kyōshitsu : kōsei rōdōshō shuwa hōshiin yōsei kōza nyūmon katei taiō Niyūmo. |date=2004 |publisher=Zenkokushuwakenshūsentā |isbn=9784902158113}}

In ASL, the OK gesture represents the number 9 when held in a stationary position with the palm facing away from the signer. This ASL numerical sign is the last in a sequence of single-digit integers where quantities of fingers denote the numbers 1 through 5, and then the thumb touches each finger in turn to denote "6" (pinky finger), "7" (ring finger), "8" (middle finger), and finally "9" (index finger). When shaken from left to right, the sign for the number 9 becomes the number 19.{{Cite book |last=Penilla |first=Adan R. Penilla |title=American Sign Language For Dummies |last2=Taylor |first2=Angela Lee |date=2016 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781119286097 |chapter=4. Getting Your Numbers and Times Straight}}

In Plains Indian Sign Language, the gesture signifies the number 3 when held a bit lower than the signs used to represent the sun. Regional forms of finger counting used in China also employ the raised middle, ring and pinky fingers to express the number 3, either with thumb and index fingers joined as they are in the OK gesture or in a similar configuration.{{Cite news |last=Xinyu |first=Weng |date=27 June 2009 |title=#5: 数字手势 {{!}} 慢速中文 Slow Chinese |url=https://www.slow-chinese.com/podcast/5-shu-zi-shou-shi/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014093912/https://www.slow-chinese.com/podcast/5-shu-zi-shou-shi/ |archive-date=14 October 2018 |access-date=17 November 2018 |work=慢速中文 Slow Chinese |language=zh}} This number gesture is primarily used in China's southern provinces, while in the north, "3" may also be expressed by the raised index, middle, and ring fingers as it is in English-speaking countries.{{Cite news |date=4 September 2016 |title=漫画《名侦探柯南》引发中国人数字手势大讨论-北京时间 |url=https://item.btime.com/337uc2judej820bfoogdr7kuh5v |access-date=17 November 2018 |work=Beijine Time |publisher=Beijing New Media Group |language=zh}} Both methods are distinct from having the thumb, index and middle fingers extended as is used to denote "3" in much of mainland Europe,{{Cite news |last=Willett |first=Megan |date=31 March 2014 |title=How To Order A Beer Like A True German |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/order-a-beer-like-a-german-2014-3 |access-date=17 November 2018 |work=Business Insider}} because this represents the number 8 in both Taiwan and parts of mainland China.{{Cite news |date=12 December 2016 |title=Chinese Number Gestures {{!}} Counting in Chinese and Learning Numbers with Hands |url=https://www.tutormandarin.net/en/chinese-hand-counting/ |access-date=17 November 2018 |work=Learn Chinese Online {{!}} TutorMandarin: Online Mandarin Tutor}}

Greco-Roman chironomia also included a counting system in which the ring gesture stood for either "10", "30", "100", or "300", the exact number being determined by which hand was used and the exact point of contact between thumb and forefinger.

The gesture was given prominence in the 1967 British television series The Prisoner, in which a number of unnamed characters are held captive in a village.{{Cite book |last=Gregory |first=Chris |title=Be Seeing You: Decoding The Prisoner |date=1997 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=9781860205217 |page=43}} Whenever these imprisoned villagers took leave of each other, they did so with the phrase "Be seeing you", accompanied by the gesture held up in front of their own eye as a reminder that despite any pretenses of freedom, they were all prisoners.{{Cite book |last=Cornell |first=Paul |title=The Classic British Telefantasy Guide |last2=Day |first2=Martin |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |date=2015 |publisher=Orion Publishing Group |isbn=9780575133525 |page=17}} The gesture is also used as a greeting in the show without the "be seeing you" phrase. The series' lead actor Patrick McGoohan stated that the show had adopted the gesture from the sign of the fish used by early Christians.{{Cite book |last=White |first=Matthew |title=Official Prisoner Companion |last2=Ali |first2=Jaffer |date=2009 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=9780446569262}}{{Cite book |title=The Prisoner Video Companion |date=1990 |publisher=Maljack Productions}}

In 2010, South Indian film director Upendra Rao made a cinematic comeback with a film that fans called Super, but whose actual title was 👌.{{Cite news |last=Lalithram |date=18 September 2017 |title=Upendra Birthday Special: 7 Films That Changed The Face of Kannada Film Industry! |url=https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/news/2017/real-star-upendra-s-7-best-directorial-films/articlecontent-pf221286-268061.html |access-date=23 February 2019 |work=Filmi Beat |quote=Super, is only a name that is given to it by the fans. But, Upendra had other thoughts in mind while naming the film. The actual title of the film is a depiction of a hand symbol (Vitarka Mudra).}} Rao himself starred in his film as a non-resident Indian who returns to his homeland to turn the nation into a utopian society.{{Cite news |last=Prakash |first=Kiran |date=August 21, 2017 |title=Real star wants to be an ideal politician, the kind found only in movies |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2017/aug/21/real-star-wants-to-be-an-ideal-politician-the-kind-found-only-in-movies-1645952.html |access-date=23 February 2019 |work=The New Indian Express}} In depicting the film's title only as a hand symbol, Rao's intent was for the audience to name it, thinking that they might call it "Zero" or "Three", or associate it with Vitarka Mudra or the symbol for om (ॐ).{{Cite news |date=9 May 2016 |title=Did You Know About The Nameless South Indian Movie Released In 2010? We Didn't Either. |url=https://www.storypick.com/and-the-movies-name-is/ |access-date=23 February 2019 |work=Storypick}} During the film's opening credit sequence, the Vitarka Mudra title transforms into a hand pointing at the viewer announcing the name of the director as "U".

File:United Macedonia salute.jpg Salute, mirroring the Vergina Sun flag in the background]]

In Europe's Balkan region, the OK gesture is known as the "United Macedonia Salute" in its association with irredentist campaigns for a united Macedonia.{{Cite web |date=20 May 2015 |title=Gallery |url=http://www.macedonianleague.org/gallery.html |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=Macedonian League |quote=VMRO-DPMNE political rally held by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in front of the Parliament in Skopje where many in the crowd raised a "three-finger" irredentist hand sign, meaning the unity of the lands of the fantasy country they call 'United Macedonia.'}} For Macedonian nationalists the two fingers forming the "O" stand for the Macedonian word Обединета (Obedineta, meaning "United"), and the other three fingers symbolize the regions of Aegean Macedonia in northern Greece, Pirin Macedonia in southwestern Bulgaria, and the region of Vardar Macedonia that roughly corresponds to the Republic of North Macedonia's borders.{{Cite news |date=20 May 2015 |title=Latest Skopje provocations in ruling party rally |url=http://en.protothema.gr/skopje-provocations-in-ruling-party-rally/ |access-date=4 January 2019 |quote=Many in the crowd raised a 'three-finger' irredentist hand sign, meaning Vardar Macedonia, the 'Aegean part', and Pirin, and the 'O' from the word 'Obedineta' which means 'United' in the Slavic language that is spoken by the country's majority ethnos. |agency=Thema News}} Taken together, the United Macedonia Salute also resembles the Vergina Sun that was the royal symbol of Ancient Macedonia. Both sun and salute became popular among Macedonian Greeks in the 1980s, and the sun appeared on the Macedonian flag after the Republic of Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. Three years later Macedonia changed its flag under economic pressure from Greece, which saw the use of the Vergina Sun as a threat against Greek sovereignty. The United Macedonia Salute remains controversial among many people in the Balkan region, especially those living within parts of Greece or Bulgaria that Macedonian nationalists wish to claim as provinces for their country.{{Cite book |last=Coconas |first=Evangelos |url=https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/vital/access/services/Download/uj:13799/CONTENT1 |title=The Macedonian Question: A Historical Overview and Evaluation with Special Attention to the Traditional Greek Ideology |date=2016 |publisher=University of Johannesburg |editor-last=Hendrickx |editor-first=Prof. B. |location=Johannesburg |pages=68–71 |format=Dissertation |access-date=4 January 2019 |editor-last2=Sansaridou-Hendrickx |editor-first2=Prof. T.}}

The gesture is used by doctors to test functionality of the anterior interosseous nerve and seek indications of median nerve palsy in the hands. When performing the test, a patient makes the OK gesture with both hands. If the circle formed by one hand appears more pinched or less round than the other, it may indicate weakness in the nerve.{{Cite web |date=23 April 2015 |title=Median Nerve |url=https://jcphysiotherapy.com/neurology/upper-quarter-screen/median-nerve/ |access-date=23 November 2018 |website=JC Physiotherapy}}{{Cite book |last=Plancher |first=Kevin D. |title=MasterCases Hand and wrist surgery |last2=Bothwell |first2=Michael F. |date=2004 |publisher=Thieme |isbn=9780865779815 |page=75 |chapter=Section III: Compression Neuropathy; Chapter 14: Anterior Interosseous Nerve Syndrome}}

A similar medical test, known as Froment's sign, is used to test for palsy on the ulnar nerve. To perform the test, a patient holds a piece of paper between their forefinger and thumb, and the examiner attempts to pull it out of the patient's grip.Jeff G. Konin et al. Special Tests for Orthopedic Examination: Third Edition. Thorofare, NJ. SLACK Incorporated, 2006. If ulnar nerve palsy is present, the patient will have difficulty maintaining their hold and may compensate by flexing the thumb to add more pressure.Richardson, Craig and Fabre, Gerd. '"Froment's Sign." Journal of Audiovisual Media in Medicine. Vol. 26, No. 1 (2003):34.

The gesture has been used as a design element in several corporate and organizational logos. These include the Piramal Group, Bharat Petroleum, and Adlabs Studios, all headquartered in India.{{Cite news |date=April 13, 2011 |title=Piramal |url=http://www.kikkidu.com/piramalindia/ |access-date=23 February 2019 |work=Stories on Logo Designs}} It is also used as a branding logo of Okamoto Industries line of condoms.{{Cite news |last=Kevin Sans |date=February 1, 2012 |title=The Vintage Japanese "OK" Hand Logo Explained |url=https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/the-vintage-japanese-ok-hand-logo-explained/ |access-date=15 June 2022}}

File:Chef icon.svg

The chef's kiss is a sign that means "perfection" in the context of food. It is a hand gesture from the mouth, sometimes with the thumb and forefingers.{{Cite web |date=2016-09-09 |title=The rich, delicious history of *Italian chef kiss* |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/italian-chef-kiss-meme/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US}} Other times the chef's kiss is merely communicated with an OK sign near the face.{{Cite web |date=9 September 2016 |title=How the "Italian chef kiss" became a snarky internet cliché |url=https://www.avclub.com/how-the-italian-chef-kiss-became-a-snarky-internet-cl-1798251705 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-us}}

File:Tondo.jpg

The OK gesture is key feature of a popular school prank called "the circle game". Someone who initiates the game makes the gesture below their own waistline and tries to trick an opponent into glancing at it. If the opponent glances at it, the gesture maker "has the self-styled right" of the "force-punch" attack on their opponent, generally on the arm. In one variation, a player who can insert their own index finger into the circle without looking at it may punch the circle-maker.

The circle game is reported to have been played in schoolyards across the United States since at least around the 1970s-1980s, and came to particular prominence after being featured on the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle in the early 2000s.{{Cite web |last=Schoenberg |first=Nara |date=2 June 2019 |title=OK sign is under siege: How the squeaky-clean hand gesture was twisted by trolls and acquired racist undertones |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/05/30/ok-sign-is-under-siege-how-the-squeaky-clean-hand-gesture-was-twisted-by-trolls-and-acquired-racist-undertones/ |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=Chichago Tribune}} Vice News has interviewed an Ohio man who claims he invented the game in the early 1980s, though this has not been independently verified.{{Cite news |last=Bish |first=Joe |date=29 June 2017 |title=Searching for the Man Behind 'The Circle Game' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/searching-for-the-man-behind-the-circle-game/ |access-date=18 January 2018 |work=Vice}} The circle game also made a resurgence in the 2010s as a form of photobomb prank or internet meme, and began to engender controversy after the OK gesture was also sometimes used as a white power symbol starting in 2017.{{Cite web |last=Esch |first=Mary |date=17 December 2019 |title=Hate sign or silly game? Military academies probe hand signs |url=https://apnews.com/article/dc3b12033dae70941b127564a129f2d1 |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=Associated Press}}

File:Zach Rehl - Leader of the Philly Proud Boys (50558087973).jpg, making the OK gesture in November 2020]]

In 2017, users on 4chan, a message-board site,{{Cite news |date=16 May 2019 |title=When is the 'OK' gesture not OK? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48293817 |work=BBC News}}{{cite web |last=Neiwert |first=David |date=19 September 2018 |title=Is that an OK sign? A white power symbol? Or just a right-wing troll? |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/18/ok-sign-white-power-symbol-or-just-right-wing-troll |website=Hatewatch |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center}} aimed to convince the media and other people that the OK gesture was being used as a white power symbol as a joke. According to The Boston Globe, users on 4chan's /pol/ ("Politically Incorrect") board were instructed in February 2017 to "flood Twitter and other social media websites...claiming that the OK hand sign is a symbol of white supremacy" as part of a campaign dubbed "Operation O-KKK".{{Cite news |last=Brodeur |first=Michael Andor |date=20 September 2018 |title=That hand symbol you're seeing everywhere? Not OK |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/09/20/that-hand-symbol-you-seeing-everywhere-not/6NXpp9PHsEKiunjypIFjDJ/story.html |access-date=30 September 2018 |work=The Boston Globe}}

The association of the gesture with white supremacy derived from the assertion that the three upheld fingers resemble a W and the circle made with the thumb and forefinger resemble the head of a P, together standing for "White Power". While some members of the alt-right started using the symbol after the launch of the 4chan campaign, it initially remained ambiguous whether or not it was being used to communicate genuine adherence to white supremacy, or with deliberately ironic motives.{{Cite news |last=Lybrand |first=Holmes |date=17 July 2018 |title=Fact Check: Were Four Police Officers Suspended for Alleged White-Power Gesture? |url=https://www.weeklystandard.com/holmes-lybrand/fact-check-were-four-police-officers-suspended-for-alleged-white-power-gesture |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717200241/https://www.weeklystandard.com/holmes-lybrand/fact-check-were-four-police-officers-suspended-for-alleged-white-power-gesture |archive-date=17 July 2018 |work=The Weekly Standard}}

In September 2019, the Anti-Defamation League added the OK gesture to its "Hate on Display" database.{{cite web |title=Okay Hand Gesture |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture |access-date=30 June 2021 |website=www.adl.org}}{{cite news |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=26 September 2019 |title=The 'OK' Hand Gesture Is Now Listed As A Symbol Of Hate |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764728163/the-ok-hand-gesture-is-now-listed-as-a-symbol-of-hate |access-date=5 December 2019 |work=NPR}} The listing notes that while the usage of the OK hand gesture "in most contexts is entirely innocuous", some white supremacists have begun using the OK symbol "as a sincere expression of white supremacy", so care should be taken to evaluate the intent behind the gesture in context. Some white supremacists have acknowledged using the symbol as a gesture of white power. As a result of white supremacists' co-opting the symbol, some people have been accused of genuine use of the sign in support for white supremacist ideology:{{Cite news |last=Shugerman |first=Emily |date=29 April 2017 |title=Two members of alt-right accused of making white supremacist hand signs in White House after receiving press passes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/white-power-hand-symbol-cassandra-fairbanks-mike-cernovich-alt-right-white-house-a7709446.html |work=The Independent}}{{Cite news |last=Meckler |first=Laura |date=12 November 2018 |title=Apparent Nazi salute in Wisconsin prom photo prompts outrage |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/apparent-nazi-salute-in-wisconsin-prom-photo-prompts-outrage/ |work=The Seattle Times}}

• In April 2017, alt-right blogger and political commentator Mike Cernovich alongside online journalist Cassandra MacDonald both made the gesture while posing for a picture at the White House.{{cite tweet |author=Miles Chong, Ian |author-link= |user= stillgray|number=858382093604208640 |date= April 29, 2017|title=This is an actual article on The Independent. |script-title= |trans-title= |language=English |retweet= |location= |access-date=February 27, 2025 |link=https://x.com/stillgray/status/858382093604208640||quote= |ref=}}{{cite news |title=Two Alt-right Members Accused of Flashing White Power Sign at White House |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2017-04-30/ty-article/two-alt-right-members-accused-of-flashing-white-power-sign-at-white-house/0000017f-e9e8-dea7-adff-f9fbe75a0000 |access-date=9 August 2022 |work=Haaretz |language=en}} Cernovich later told BuzzFeed News reporter Joe Bernstein that he was using the hand gesture as a reference to rapper Jay-Z and conspiracy theories alleging that the gesture is linked to the Illuminati.{{Cite news |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |date=5 September 2018 |title=No, a former Kavanaugh clerk didn't flash a "white power sign." Here's what really happened. |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/9/5/17821946/white-power-hand-signal-brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-hearing-zina-bash-4chan |access-date=9 August 2022 |work=Vox |language=en}}
• In July 2018, four police officers in Jasper, Alabama were suspended for a week for making the gesture while posing for a group photo.
• In September 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard disciplined an employee who conspicuously made this gesture in the background of a newscast.{{cite news |last=Telford |first=Taylor |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Eli |date=14 September 2018 |title=A Coast Guard officer on Florence duty made a hand gesture on TV. Some saw a white-power sign. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/09/15/coast-guard-officer-ousted-florence-duty-after-viewers-claim-he-made-white-power-sign-tv/ |access-date=25 November 2018 |work=The Washington Post}}{{Cite news |last=Shannon |first=Joe |date=15 September 2018 |title=Coast Guard member reassigned after he flashed 'offensive' hand gesture on TV |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/15/controversial-ok-sign-gets-cost-guard-member-reassigned/1316780002/ |work=USA Today}}
• In March 2019, Idaho Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin received considerable criticism for posing with members of the 3 Percenter right-wing militia group outside of her office who made the palm-inward gesture.{{cite news |last=Sewell |first=Cynthia |date=1 March 2019 |title=Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin facing public condemnation over photo with 3 Percenters |url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article226966309.html |access-date=1 March 2019 |work=Idaho Statesman}}{{Cite news |last=Dawson |first=James |last2=Druzin |first2=Heath |date=1 March 2019 |title=Idaho Lieutenant Governor Faces Backlash For Photo Supporting Jailed Militiaman |url=https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/idaho-lieutenant-governor-faces-backlash-photo-supporting-jailed-militiaman#stream/0 |access-date=1 March 2019 |publisher=Boise State Public Radio}}{{Cite news |last=Lowe |first=Emily |last2=Simmons |first2=Tommy |date=1 March 2019 |title=Idaho Lt. Gov. poses with protesters in support of standoff prisoner |url=https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/idaho-lt-gov-poses-with-protesters-in-support-of-standoff/article_fbbc6128-025d-58c5-aab9-19792a91803a.html |access-date=1 March 2019 |publisher=Idaho State Journal}}
• In March 2019, white supremacist terrorist Brenton Tarrant flashed the sign to cameras in a New Zealand courtroom during his arraignment for the fatal shooting of 51 people in the Christchurch mosque shootings.{{Cite news |date=16 March 2019 |title=New Zealand shooting: Suspect shows court white power sign |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/new-zealand-shooting-suspect-shows-court-white-power-sign-qxnvdhdm0 |work=The Times |location=London}}{{cite news |last=Howe |first=Suzette |last2=Melendez |first2=Pilar |last3=Nadeau |first3=Barbie Latza |date=15 March 2019 |title=New Zealand Mosque Shooting Suspect Brenton Tarrant Flashes White Power Sign in Court |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/brenton-tarrant-idd-new-zealand-shooting-suspect |work=Daily Beast}}
• In May 2019, Conservative People's Party of Estonia's Mart Helme, Minister of the Interior, and his son, Martin Helme, Minister of Finance, caused controversy by publicly flashing the OK hand gesture.{{cite web |date=3 May 2019 |title=New Estonian government ministers fuel concerns over sexism, white supremacy |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/estonia-minister-mart-helme-sexist-remark-white-supremacy-hand-signal-europe/ |publisher=CBS News}}{{cite news |date=1 May 2019 |title=Estonia's far-right ministers face rocky start |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48118758 |work=BBC News}}
• In May 2019, a Chicago Cubs fan was banned from Wrigley Field for using the gesture behind black commentator Doug Glanville during a TV report.{{Cite news |date=8 May 2019 |title=Chicago Cubs fan banned from Wrigley Field for 'racist gesture' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/baseball/48214303 |access-date=8 May 2019 |publisher=BBC Sport}}
• In May 2019, Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School spent $53,000 to reprint its yearbook after 18 students showed the OK sign in pictures. School officials stated that the symbol's association with white supremacy could jeopardize the students' reputations and future college and job prospects, so they would be removing the photographs from the yearbook in its reprinted form.
• In October 2019, an actor portraying the character Gru from Despicable Me was fired by the Universal Orlando theme park, for displaying the gesture in a photo with a biracial girl. The photo showed the costumed actor standing behind the girl while making the OK gesture on her shoulder.{{Citation |title=Universal Orlando actor fired for making racist hand gesture |date=October 2, 2019 |url=https://apnews.com/155091c105444f82b1a46e516fe5d31c |publisher=Associated Press}}{{citation |last=Neil Vigdor |title=Universal Resort Costumed Character Made White Supremacy Sign, Family Says |date=October 5, 2019 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/us/despicable-me-universal-orlando-white-supremacist.html}}
• In October 2019, a police officer in Melbourne, Australia was investigated for flashing the symbol at climate protesters, after it was found his social media accounts displayed a number of memes circulated by the alt-right movement.{{cite web |date=2 November 2019 |title=Victoria Police denounces 'inappropriate' memes posted to social account by officer accused of making white power gesture |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-02/victoria-police-alt-right-hand-gesture-officer-statement/11666472 |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=www.abc.net.au |language=en}} Another officer at the same event was photographed wearing a sticker with a slogan reading "EAD hippy" on his body camera.
• In January 2020, the perpetrator of the Bærum mosque shooting flashed the Nazi salute and the OK hand sign during a court hearing.{{Cite web |date=6 January 2020 |title=Philip Manshaus fengslet i åtte nye uker |url=https://www.aftenbladet.no/article/sa-LABO9q.html |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=www.aftenbladet.no |language=nb}} He repeated the use of the sign at the start of his trial.{{Cite web |date=7 May 2020 |title=Dette betyr tegnet Manshaus viste i retten |url=https://www.nrk.no/norge/dette-betyr-tegnet-philip-manshaus-viste-i-retten-1.15007921 |access-date=2020-05-07 |website=www.nrk.no |language=nb}}
• During the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, men in the crowd were pictured making the gesture.{{Cite web |title=The symbols of hate and far-right extremism on display in pro-Trump Capitol siege |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/symbols-hate-extremism-display-pro-trump-capitol-siege/story?id=75177671 |website=ABC News}}{{Cite web |date=9 January 2021 |title=Decoding the extremist symbols and groups at the Capitol Hill insurrection |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/09/us/capitol-hill-insurrection-extremist-flags-soh/index.html |website=CNN}}{{Cite news |title=Identifying far-right symbols that appeared at the U.S. Capitol riot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/far-right-symbols-capitol-riot/ |work=The Washington Post}}

File:OK Hand Gesture (cropped).jpg

While widespread use of the OK gesture has granted it an international meaning of assent, it also bears negative, vulgar, or offensive meanings in many regions of the world. In contrast to Japan's use of the expression to represent coins and wealth, the gesture's "O" shape stands for "zero" meaning "worth nothing" in France and Tunisia.{{Cite web |last=Merritt |first=Anne |date=22 September 2010 |title=10 common gestures easily misunderstood abroad |url=https://matadornetwork.com/abroad/10-common-gestures-easily-misunderstood-abroad/ |access-date=17 September 2018 |website=Matador Network}} In many Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Tunisia, and Greece, as well as in the Middle East, parts of Germany, and many parts of Latin America, the gesture may be interpreted as a vulgar expression resembling a human anus, referring to sex, either as an insult ("You are an asshole"), or a homophobic reaction to a symbol of homosexuality and the act of sodomy.

In Kuwait and other Arab countries, the shaking of this sign represents the evil eye and is used as a curse or a threat, sometimes in conjunction with verbal condemnation.{{Cite news |last=Medhat |first=Noha |date=22 November 2015 |title=8 normal signs and gestures that can be offensive in the Middle East |url=https://stepfeed.com/8-normal-signs-and-gestures-that-can-be-offensive-in-the-middle-east-0691 |access-date=25 February 2019 |work=StepFeed |quote=The 'OK': The sign is considered very insulting in Turkey and in some other Middle Eastern countries – such as Kuwait – where it denotes the evil eye.}}{{Cite book |last=Ramankutty |first=P. V. |title=Curse as a Motif in the Mahābhārata |date=1999 |publisher=Nag Publishers |isbn=9788170814320 |quote=The Western 'A-Ok' sign is, to the Arab, a sign of the evil-eye and used only in conjunction with curses.}}

In some regions of the world, both the positive "OK" and the negative forms are practiced, which can lead to confusion over which meaning is intended. In regions and cultures where the gesture has a historically negative meaning, its use as an "OK sign" is often the result of its appearance in media and tends to be used more by younger people.{{Cite news |date=27 September 2016 |title=The That means of the OK Hand Gesture Across the World – Study the That means of Hand Gestures {{!}} Turkey To Travel Tour |url=https://www.turkeytotravel.com/the-meaning-of-the-ok-hand-gesture-around-the-world-learn-the-meaning-of-hand-gestures/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081500/https://www.turkeytotravel.com/the-meaning-of-the-ok-hand-gesture-around-the-world-learn-the-meaning-of-hand-gestures/ |archive-date=18 November 2018 |access-date=17 November 2018 |work=Turkey To Travel}} In France, where widespread use has seeped in through American culture, the gesture's positive "OK" sentiment became popular in the north of the country while its negative meaning as "worthless" remained in the south. To avoid confusion, French communicators have become accustomed to using additional context clues, such as posture or facial expression, to clarify meaning. In other circumstances, the gesture's varied meanings are less easily reconciled, as was the case in the 1950s Brazil when United States Vice President Richard Nixon emerged from his airplane displaying the sign with each hand. While Nixon's intent was to communicate goodwill to the people of São Paulo, the crowd received it with offense.{{Cite book |last=Axtell |first=Roger E. |url=https://archive.org/details/dostaboosofhumor00axte/page/92 |title=Do's and Taboos of Humor Around the World: Stories and Tips from Business and Life |date=1999 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780471254034 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dostaboosofhumor00axte/page/92 92] |url-access=registration}}

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• A-ok
• OK
• Three-finger salute
• Thumb signal

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{{Gestures}}

Category:Hand gestures

Category:Mudras

Category:Sign language

Category:White nationalist symbols

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