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poker

Etymology and origin of the English word poker

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Poker, a rod for stirring a fire, is from the verb poke; poker, the card game, is of uncertain American origin.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈpəʊ.kə/, US /ˈpoʊ.kɚ/[4]

poker1 fire iron

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1534
Ultimate origin
English (poke)

Etymology

It is formed from the verb poke and -er.[1][2][5] A Middle English pokere (early 12th century) may have meant one who bags grain, from poke, a bag.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A metal bar for stirring a fire: 1534.[1][6][5]

Semantic evolution

Johnson defined it as “the iron bar with which men stir the fire”.[2] From its proverbial stiffness, a stiff, rigid person is called a poker (1812),[6] and in humorous university slang an Oxford or Cambridge bedel, who carried a staff, was a poker (1841).[6] Poker-faced belongs to the card game.[2]

Timeline

  • 1534 – a fire poker.[1][6]
  • 1812 – a stiff person.[6]
  • 1841 – a university bedel (slang).[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A metal rod for stirring a fire.
  2. A person or thing that pokes.

poker2 card game

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
1832

Etymology

It is of uncertain origin.[1][2] It is sometimes explained as from German Pochspiel, a similar bragging game, from pochen, to brag, literally to knock, as players passed by saying “Ich poche” or rapping the table;[1][2][3][7] or from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch poken, to brag;[1] or, according to Merriam-Webster, probably from French poque, a similar card game.[5][1] Barnhart warns that without documentation these explanations are mere speculation.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The card game: 1834 in American English in Barnhart and Etymonline,[1][2] 1832 in Merriam-Webster.[5]

Semantic evolution

The game itself apparently arose by 1829 in the lower Mississippi region, perhaps among riverboat gamblers, played with a 20-card pack among four players; the full-deck game was played by the 1840s.[2] The earlier English version was called brag.[2] Poker face, a deadpan expression, is slang from 1874.[2]

Timeline

  • 1829 – the game played (reminiscence).[2]
  • 1832 – poker.[5]
  • 1840s – full-deck poker.[2]
  • 1874 – poker face.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of various card games in which players bet on the value of their hands, often bluffing.

Word family

  • poker face
  • poker-faced
  • poke

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Poker.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/poker. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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