poker English · revision 10761

+ Poker, a rod for stirring a fire, is from the verb poke; poker, the card game, is of uncertain American origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈpəʊ.kə/, US /ˈpoʊ.kɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|fire iron}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1534|origins=en poke}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from the verb [[poke]] and [[-er]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) A Middle English pokere (early 12th century) may have meant one who bags grain, from poke, a bag.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A metal bar for stirring a fire: 1534.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson defined it as “the iron bar with which men stir the fire”.^(Etymonline) From its proverbial stiffness, a stiff, rigid person is called a poker (1812),^(OED 1989) and in humorous university slang an Oxford or Cambridge bedel, who carried a staff, was a poker (1841).^(OED 1989) ''Poker-faced'' belongs to the card game.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1534 – a fire poker.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1812 – a stiff person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1841 – a university bedel (slang).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A metal rod for stirring a [[fire]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing that pokes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|card game}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=1832}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) 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;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) or from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch poken, to brag;^(Barnhart 1988) or, according to Merriam-Webster, probably from French poque, a similar card game.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart warns that without documentation these explanations are mere speculation.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The card game: 1834 in American English in Barnhart and Etymonline,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) 1832 in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline) The earlier English version was called brag.^(Etymonline) ''Poker face'', a deadpan expression, is slang from 1874.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1829 – the game played (reminiscence).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1832 – poker.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1840s – full-deck poker.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1874 – poker face.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various [[card]] games in which players bet on the value of their hands, often bluffing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[poker face]]

+ * [[poker-faced]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[poke]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}