Etymology

piker

P3I1K5E1R1

Today it means: A soldier armed with a pike, a pikeman. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Turkish Piker
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piker · noun1

From pike + -er. In some senses, it has been linked etymologically to the word pikey as well as to Pike County in eastern Missouri https://web.archive.org/web/20051111194645/http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/p/p0300200.html. In the latter instance the term originally denoted poor immigrants to California.

Piker · proper noun2

  1. Turkish · borrowed fromPiker
  2. English todayPiker

Borrowed from Turkish Piker.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. A bullock living in the wild. (Also used attributively.)
  • from 20th c. One who refuses to go out with friends, or leaves a party early; a spoilsport or "chicken".

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.