What exactly is the derivation of the word piker? -- Mark, Littleton, Colo.
in the U.S., piker is a term applied to a stingy, petty or overly cautious person. In Great Britain, however, piker refers to a vagrant, coming from the term for rural tramps who once wandered the toll roads, or turnpikes, according to The Word Detective..jpg)
On our shores, the word is said to have been applied first to poor 19th century Gold Rush migrants to California from Pike County, Missouri, and their reputed miserly ways, much the way Dust Bowl migrants from Oklahoma were disparaged as Okies. That's according to several sources, including The Henry Holt Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins.
Still another derivation, according to The Word Detective, is from a walking stick, or pike, which a person preparing to leave would grab. By the late 19th century, someone leaving or backing out of a gambling situation in America was said to be piking.
Unfortunately for residents of Pike County, most authorities I found go with that derivation.
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Comments
In Australia "piker" when applied to a person means someone who backs down from confrontation of any sort, even if he believes himself to be in the right; e.g. a politician might "pike out" on his promises, someone who won't stand up for his rights – to a boss for example – is a piker. A "piker bullock" is a term applied to a bullock that has escaped muster (round-up) and gone feral on one of the large outback cattle stations (ranches).
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