article_snippet: The word 'pikey' is believed to have been used as early as the 16th century.
article_snippet: But The word 'pikey' was not seen in print until 1837, when The Times used The word 'pikey' to describe strangers who visited the Isle of Sheppey.
article_snippet: The actual origins of the word are unclear.
article_snippet: The actual origins of the word could be connected to the word 'turnpike'.
article_snippet: These were toll roads, which had rotating barriers made of sharp poles called pikes - and vagrants were known to gather in these areas in the 18th century.
article_snippet: An alternative version of the word is 'piker', which is said to have come from the verb 'to pike' - which once meant to run away.
article_snippet: In recent years gipsies have complained when the term is used against gipsies and say the term is insulting.
article_snippet: the term is also used in the modern day as a term to insult someone of supposedly low class.