''Pikey'' (; also spelled ''pikie'', ''pykie'' ) is a slang term, which is

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

and considered by many to be a slur. It is used mainly in the UK to refer to people who are of the

Traveller Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to: People Generic terms *One engaged in travel * Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources * Nomad, a member of a community wit ...

community, a set of ethno-cultural groups found primarily in Great Britain and Ireland. It is also used against Romanichal Travellers, Welsh Kale, Scottish Lowland Travellers, Scottish Highland Travellers, and Funfair Travellers. It is not well received among

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

or British Romany Travellers, as it is considered an ethnic slur.

Etymology

The term "pikey" is possibly derived from "pike" which, c. 1520, meant "highway" and is related to the words ''turnpike'' (toll road) and ''pikeman'' (toll collector). Another possible etymology is that it derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

verb ''pikka'' (meaning to peck, pick or steal) which became ''piken'' in

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

, before falling out of use. Part of its meaning survives in modern Dutch ''pikken'', meaning to steal as well as in the old French slang "piquer", to snatch, to steal. In Robert Henryson's Fable Collection (late 15th century), in the fable of the Two Mice, the thieving mice are referred to on more than one occasion as "pykeris":

''And in the samin thay went, but mair abaid,'' ''Withoutin fyre or candill birnand bricht'' ''For commonly sic pykeris luffis not lycht.'' And together they went, but more about, without fire or candle burning bright For commonly, such thieves do not like light.

19th century and 20th century

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

in 1837 writes disparagingly of itinerant ''pike-keepers''. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

'' traced the earliest use of "pikey" to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' in August 1838, which referred to strangers who had come to the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...

as "pikey-men".''Oxford English Dictionary'' In 1847, J. O. Halliwell in his ''Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words'' recorded the use of "pikey" to mean a gypsy. In 1887, W. D. Parish and W. F. Shaw in the ''Dictionary of Kentish Dialect'' recorded the use of the word to mean "a turnpike traveller; a vagabond; and so generally a low fellow". Its

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

ish usage became more widespread, as it was also used to include all of the travelling groups who came to the county as "pickers" in the summertime of fruit and hops. Thomas Acton's ''Gypsy Politics and Social Change'' notes

John Camden Hotten John Camden Hotten (12 September 1832, Clerkenwell – 14 June 1873, Hampstead) was an English bibliophile and publisher. He is best known for his clandestine publishing of numerous erotic and pornographic titles. Life Hotten was born John Will ...

's '' Slang Dictionary'' (1887) as similarly stating:

Hotten's dictionary of slang gives ''pike at'' as ''go away'' and ''Pikey'' as ''a tramp or a Gypsy''. He continues a ''pikey-cart'' is, in various parts of the country, one of those habitable vehicles suggestive of country life. Possibly the term has some reference to those who continually use the ''pike'' or turnpike road.

The ''Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society'' similarly agrees the term ''pikey'' solely applied (negatively) to Romani people.

Contemporary usage

''Pikey'' remained, as of 1989, common prison slang for

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...

or those who have a similar lifestyle of itinerant unemployment and travel. More recently, ''pikey'' was applied to

(other slurs include ''

tinker Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani p ...

s'' and ''

knacker A knacker (), knackerman or knacker man is a person who removes and clears animal carcasses (dead, dying, injured) from private farms or public highways and renders the collected carcasses into by-products such as fats, tallow (yellow greas ...

s'') and non-

Romanichal Romanichal Travellers ( ; more commonly known as English Gypsies or English Travellers) are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. There are an estimated 200,000 Romani in the United Kingdom; ...

travellers. In the late 20th century, it came to be used to describe "a lower-class person, regarded as coarse or disreputable." Pikey's most common contemporary use is not as a term for the Romani ethnic group, but as a catch-all phrase to refer to people, of any ethnic group, who travel around with

no fixed abode In law, no fixed abode or without fixed abode is not having a fixed geographical location as a residence, commonly referred to as no fixed address. This is applicable to several groups: * People who have a home, but which is not always in the ...

. Among English Romani Gypsies the term pikey refers to a Traveller who is not of Romani descent. It may also refer to a member who has been cast out of the family. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the definition became even looser and is sometimes used to refer to a wide section of the (generally urban) underclass of the country (in England generally known as

chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * "Chavette" is a related t ...

s), or merely a person of any social class who "lives on the cheap" such as a

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. It is also used as an adjective, e.g. "a pikey estate" or "a pikey pub". Following complaints from Travellers' groups about racism, when the term was used by presenter

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...

as a pun for

Pike's Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou Sprin ...

in the television programme '' Top Gear'', the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust ruled that, in this instance, the term merely meant "cheap". In doing so, it justified the ascribed meaning by quoting the Wikipedia article for the term. Negative English attitudes towards "pikeys" were a running theme in the 2000 Guy Ritchie film '' Snatch.'' In 2003 the Firle Bonfire Society burned an effigy of a family of gypsies inside a caravan after travellers damaged local land. The number plate on the caravan read "P1KEY". A storm of protests and accusations of racism rapidly followed. Twelve members of the society were arrested but the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advi ...

decided that there was insufficient evidence to proceed on a charge of "

incitement to racial hatred Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries. Australia In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA – Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colour ...

". ''The Oxford History of English'' refers to: " Ned" is a Scottish usage that perhaps derives from the diminutive for the name Edward. The current usage dates from the 1930s, but the Oxford English Dictionary refers to its use for "hooligan" or "lout" in the 19th century.

References

Sources

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External links

Anger over "pikey" slur
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