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Origin and history of hiker

hiker(n.)

1908, agent noun from hike (v.). Earlier as a type of boat:

The "hiker" or "tuck-up" as it is more generally termed, is a craft peculiar to the Delaware River, and is to the youth residing along the banks of that stream what the racing shell is to the Torontonian .... The origin of the name "hiker" is veiled in mystery. No member of the clubs engaged in sailing these boats can give anything like a satisfactory derivation of the word. The most common explanation is that it is corrupted from the local verb "to hike," which means to run or fly swiftly. ["Harper's Young People," 1885]

also from 1908

Entries linking to hiker

hike(v.)

1809, hyke "to walk vigorously," an English dialectal word of unknown origin. A yike from 1736 answers to the sense. Not in widespread popular use until early 20c.

HIKE, v. to go away. It is generally used in a contemptuous sense. Ex. "Come, hike," i.e. take yourself off; begone. [Rev. Robert Forby, "The Vocabulary of East Anglia," London, 1830]

Sense of "pull up" (as pants) first recorded 1873 in American English, and may be a variant of hitch; extended sense of "raise" (as wages) is 1867. Related: Hiked; hiking.

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    Trends of hiker

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    Walker
    surname, early 13c., probably an agent noun from walk (v.) in the sense "to full cloth." preserves the cloth-fulling sense (walker with this meaning is attested from c. 1300). "Walker" or "Hookey Walker" was a common slang retort of incredulity in early and mid-19c. London, for w
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    plunge
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    ring
    [circular band] Old English hring "circlet of metal, especially one of a precious metal for wearing on the finger ornamentally, also a part of a mail coat; anything circular," from Proto-Germanic *hringaz "something curved, circle" (source also of Old Norse hringr, Old Frisian hr
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    "female genitalia," also "sex with a woman; woman regarded as a sex object," c. 1910, a word of uncertain origin.  Shortened form poon is recorded by 1969. Probably via New Orleans Creole, from French putain "prostitute," from Old French pute "whore" (cognate with Spanish an
    finance
    c. 1400, "an end, settlement, retribution," from Old French finance "end, ending; pardon, remission; payment, expense; settlement of a debt" (13c.), noun of action from finer "to end, settle a dispute or debt," from fin (see fine (n.)). Compare Medieval Latin finis "a payment in
    politics
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    industry
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