Meaning
What does AFAIK mean?
The meaning of AFAIK is “as far as I know”.
It is used to express one’s superficial knowledge about a subject and the self-doubt which makes them warn others, that they may not be a reliable source to inform from.
Origin
What's the origin of AFAIK?
“Afaik” is an internet abbreviation, which places its creation to the late 90’s or early 2000’s, when chatrooms and forums were rampant with newly devised acronyms.
It was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2003.
Spread & Usage
How did AFAIK spread?
Thanks to SMS technology and the convenience of text messages, “afaik” – similarly to many other abbreviations – is here to stay on the web.
Today, it can be encountered in various contexts, on Reddit threads, Facebook posts or tweets, not to mention messages in chatting apps, like Messenger or WhatsApp.