Etymology

hike

H4I1K5E1

Today it means: A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise. Full definition →

First used c. 1900Middle English hytchen
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromhytchen
  2. English todayhike

From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a limp”), Danish hinke (“to hop”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from c. 1900 A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.