4 ms·

we don't use the word 'hiking' Yes we do.

by gaius 10y ago

chrisseaton 10y ago
I don't have many sources but I believe the word 'hiking' is a relatively recent American import. The OED lists a lot of American historical examples, but only relatively recent ones in the UK I would just call it walking, or tabbing if it's at an aggressive pace. Old people seem to call it rambling, but that makes it sound a bit lazy I think.
- frenchy 10y ago
  While it probably became popularized in North America, it seems to actually be of British origin: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hiking https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hiking
  - chrisseaton 10y ago
    > Compound noun of hill walking, British origination, c. 1920s OED, which I'd trust more than Wiktionary, says 'colloq. orig. dial. and U.S.' and gives US examples prior to the 20s.
  - panglott 10y ago
    etymonline cites it as an English dialectal word from 1809 http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hike http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hike Almost all American English words are originally of English origin, of course ;) However, Google Ngrams shows that the term "hiking" was very rare prior to about 1920, and the large majority of 1920s sources are American. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Chiking%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking&year_st... Compare hiking, hill walking, tramping, and rambling: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking%2Chill+walking%2Ctramping%2C+rambling&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Chiking%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Chill%20walking%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Ctramping%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Crambling%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking%2Chill+...
- Steve44 10y ago
  We used to use rambling for a gentle country walk through fields etc. We'd say we were fell walking if we went out for a day up the mountains in the Lake District, we'd wear walking boots. If it was for a night or more it would either be camping or an expedition - as in DofE. Tabbing tends to be a military term as far as I'm aware. I don't remember using the term hiking until recently.
  - gaius 10y ago
    Tabbing tends to be a military term as far as I'm aware The MilFit community have brought it into mainstream usage. I don't remember not using/hearing the term hiking.

we don't use the word 'hiking' Yes we do.

by gaius 10y ago

we don't use the word 'hiking' Yes we do.

I don't have many sources but I believe the word 'hiking' is a relatively recent American import. The OED lists a lot of American historical examples, but only relatively recent ones in the UK I would just call it walking, or tabbing if it's at an aggressive pace. Old people seem to call it rambling, but that makes it sound a bit lazy I think.

frenchy 10y ago
While it probably became popularized in North America, it seems to actually be of British origin: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hiking https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hiking
- chrisseaton 10y ago
  > Compound noun of hill walking, British origination, c. 1920s OED, which I'd trust more than Wiktionary, says 'colloq. orig. dial. and U.S.' and gives US examples prior to the 20s.
- panglott 10y ago
  etymonline cites it as an English dialectal word from 1809 http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hike http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hike Almost all American English words are originally of English origin, of course ;) However, Google Ngrams shows that the term "hiking" was very rare prior to about 1920, and the large majority of 1920s sources are American. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Chiking%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking&year_st... Compare hiking, hill walking, tramping, and rambling: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking%2Chill+walking%2Ctramping%2C+rambling&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Chiking%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Chill%20walking%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Ctramping%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Crambling%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hiking%2Chill+...
Steve44 10y ago
We used to use rambling for a gentle country walk through fields etc. We'd say we were fell walking if we went out for a day up the mountains in the Lake District, we'd wear walking boots. If it was for a night or more it would either be camping or an expedition - as in DofE. Tabbing tends to be a military term as far as I'm aware. I don't remember using the term hiking until recently.
- gaius 10y ago
  Tabbing tends to be a military term as far as I'm aware The MilFit community have brought it into mainstream usage. I don't remember not using/hearing the term hiking.