"Piker"

[Jonathan Lighter]

This familiar disparaging epithet is sometimes said to derive from "Piker," a poor Western immigrant from Pike Co., Mo. (home of Sweet Betsy).

  Well, maybe.  The earliest ex. I've seen comes from Matsell's _Vocabulum_ in 1859, presumably reflecting NYC usage.  DA & OED offer a couple of 1870s exx. having the obsolete meaning of "tramp."

  Can anyone come up with some early (pre-1900) citations that might shed light on the etymology of "piker" ?  The word is common in print after 1898.

  JL

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