pike vs piker

pike

noun
  • A gypsy, itinerant tramp, or traveller from any ethnic background; a pikey. 

  • A large haycock (“conical stack of hay left in a field to dry before adding to a haystack”). 

  • Any carnivorous freshwater fish of the genus Esox, especially the northern pike, Esox lucius. 

  • A very long spear used two-handed by infantry soldiers for thrusting (not throwing), both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a countermeasure against cavalry assaults. 

  • A sharp, pointed staff or implement. 

  • A position with the knees straight and a tight bend at the hips with the torso folded over the legs, usually part of a jack-knife. 

  • Especially in place names: a hill or mountain, particularly one with a sharp peak or summit. 

verb
  • To equip with a turnpike. 

  • To assume a pike position. 

  • Often followed by on or out: to quit or back out of a promise. 

  • To prod, attack, or injure someone with a pike. 

  • To bet or gamble with only small amounts of money. 

piker

noun
  • A tramp; a vagrant. 

  • One who bets or gambles only with small amounts of money. 

  • A soldier armed with a pike, a pikeman. 

  • One who refuses to go out with friends, or leaves a party early; a spoilsport or "chicken". 

  • An amateur. 

  • A stingy person; a cheapskate. 

  • One who pikes (quits or backs out of a promise). 

  • A bullock living in the wild. (Also used attributively.) 

How often have the words pike and piker occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )