The story
- Yoruba · derived fromófé“to evade, disappear”
- English todayofay
Unknown; perhaps from an African language (possibly Yoruba ófé (“to evade, disappear”)). Pig Latin for foe, though popularly posited, is probably not accurate. A possible point of origin is Cab Calloway's Hepster's Dictionary, where the word is defined as "Policeman or law enforcement, 'The Man'".
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.