hike English · revision 15181

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=1809}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /haɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an English dialect word, hyke or heik, to walk vigorously or tramp,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) of unknown or uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Merriam-Webster suggests it is perhaps akin to [[hitch]].^(MWU 2024) Etymonline notes a yike with the same sense from 1736.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To walk vigorously, to tramp or march: 1809.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) Hoad dates a sense to jerk, pull or drag to the 18th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Robert Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia (1830) recorded hike, to go away, used contemptuously, as in ''Come, hike''.^(Etymonline) To walk for pleasure, or go on a walking tour, is also from 1809,^(OED 1989) but the word was not in wide popular use until the early 20th century.^(Etymonline) To pull up, as of trousers, is first recorded about 1873 in American English, perhaps as a variant of hitch.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) To raise wages or prices is from 1904 in Barnhart, 1867 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The noun, a tramp or march, is from 1865,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and a rise in prices or wages, chiefly North American, from 1931.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Hiker is from 1901 in the OED, 1913 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1809 – to tramp, walk vigorously.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1830 – to go away (East Anglia).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1865 – a hike (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1873 – to pull up (US).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1904 – to raise prices or wages (US).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1931 – a rise in prices.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To go on a long walk for pleasure or exercise, especially in the country.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pull or raise with a sudden motion, often with ''up''; to [[hitch]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To increase a price or amount, especially abruptly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(American football)'' To [[snap]] the ball.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long walk, a [[trek]] or march.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sudden rise in prices, wages or similar.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hiker]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hitch]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}