[at-l] "Hiker" -- the word

[lpatton at mailer.fsu.edu]

----- Forwarded message from dfaddleton at gmail.com -----
Where did it come from? What's its etymology? ...
The OED is available online to subscribers only: I'd sure like a copy of its
article on the word "hiker" a derivative presumably of "hike"...
----- End forwarded message -----

I'm able to get to the OED through my FSU Library access.  Here's the entries:
     ~~ eArThworm
------------------
Hike, v.
colloq. orig. dial. and U.S.

    1. intr.    a. To walk or march vigorously or laboriously.    b. To 
walk for pleasure; to go for a long walk, or walking tour, spec. in the 
country. Also, to travel by any means. 1809 S. WESLEY Lett. (1875) 32 
Adieu for the present, we must Contrive one more Pull at Surry before I 
hyke over to Staffordshire. 1825 J. JENNINGS Observ. Dial. W. Eng., To 
hike off, to go away; to go off. Used generally in a bad sense. 1868 S. 
HALE Lett. (1919) 39 This day we moved over to the Thebes side and were 
to have done Karnak..but..I was really sick with heiking. a1872 J. M. 
BAILEY Folks at Danbury (1877) 55 You've got to hike aroun', and fling 
some style inter the victuals. 1884 Daily Tel. 2 Feb. 3/1 (Farmer), We 
three, not having any regler homes..hike about for a living. 1886 S. 
HALE Lett. (1919) 157 You see the Churches can't do much, but Mr. 
Warner is wild to be heiking about. a1902 Scribner's Mag. (Webster 
1902), It's hike, hike, hike (march) till you stick in the mud, and 
then you hike back again a little slower than you went. 1904 Chicago 
Evening Post 23 Aug. 7 These girls had hiked up the dizzy trail along 
the face of Glacier to the summit. 1910 S. E. WHITE Rules of Game III. 
xii, ?I'm going to hike out before breakfast,? said he before turning 
in, ?so if you'll just show me where the lantern is, I won't bother you 
in the morning.? Ibid. V. viii, No animal in its senses would hike 
uphill and then down again. 1920 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 341 To take stick 
and pack, and ?hike? away from these cities for hundreds or thousands 
of miles. 1926 Glasgow Herald 25 Aug. 8 Guides in gay girlhood will 
hike through the hollow. 1927 A. CONAN DOYLE Case-bk. S. Holmes 149, I 
told him I was a busy man and could not spend my life hiking round the 
world in search of Garridebs. 1936 F. CLUNE Roaming round Darling xi. 
101 Upon returning to Sydney I hiked out to Watson's Bay. 1937 Amer. 
Speech XII. 162/1 High school students have used hike to mean going to 
a play spot, either by automobile, by hayrack, or on foot. 1971 Sci. 
Amer. June 16/3, I occasionally take time off to hike in the mountains 
and ski.

    2. trans.    a. To force to move or go; to convey forcibly or 
laboriously; to pull on, up, over, etc.; to ?drag out?; to increase (a 
price, etc.). Also fig.     b. intr. To work upwards out of place. 
Const. up. Hence hiker ( ha k (r)), one who hikes or goes on a hike;  
hiking vbl. n. (also attrib.). 1901 Princeton Alumni Weekly 518/1 Here 
I got my first chance at ?hiking? in the Philippines. 1913 F. H. HARRIS 
Dartmouth out o' Doors 32 While building strong physiques for 
themselves, the cross-country ?hikers? are providing for happier 
possibilities for the generations to come. 1923 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. 
Spring & Summer 51 New styles for misses, including the hiking suit and 
costume skirt. 1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 20 July 18/4 
Women's Tweed Hiking Breeches..of good grade materials, smart fawn and 
grey mixtures; well tailored and buttoned at the knee. 1927 Daily 
Express 24 May 3/5 We [of the Camping Club] have 3,000 members... Most 
of these are solitary ?hikers?, who carry all their kit with them. 1930 
Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Sept. 710/4 A special kind of traveller, belonging 
to the class of ?hikers?. 1931 Daily Tel. 21 Jan. 8/6 ?Hikers'? Hostels 
at 1s. a Night. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 May 368/1 The sturdy young 
?heroes? who accompanied him on the hiking adventures. 1931 Daily Tel. 
21 May 16/2 The widespread hiking movement in Germany and other 
Continental countries. 1959 M. SHADBOLT New Zealanders 71 He was used 
to hiking. 1972 L. L. Bean, Inc. Catal. (Freeport, Maine) Spring 8 
Sierra club cup for hikers and campers. 1972 Sci. Amer. July 13/1, I 
enjoy cross-country skiing in the winter and hiking and bicycling the 
rest of the year.



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