What is "tyke"

Tike \Tike\, n. [Icel. t[=i]k a bitch; akin to Sw. tik.]

1. A dog; a cur. ``Bobtail tike or trundle-tail.''
   --Shak.

2. A countryman or clown; a boorish, clumsy, or eccentric person; -- also spelled tyke.

3. a small child; -- variant of tyke.

late 14c., "cur, mongrel," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse tik "bitch," from Proto-Germanic *tikk- (cognates: Middle Low German tike). Also applied in Middle English to a low-bred or lazy man. The meaning "child" is from 1902, though the word was used in playful reproof from 1894. As a nickname for a Yorkshireman, from c.1700; "Perhaps originally opprobrious; but now accepted and owned" [OED].

n. 1 (context dialectal English) A mongrel dog. 2 (context slang English) A small child, especially a cheeky or mischievous one 3 # (context Canadian English) An initiation level of sports competition for young children 4 (context dated chiefly British English) A crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement 5 (context UK informal English) A person from Yorkshire; a Yorkshireman or Yorkshirewoman 6 (context Australian NZ informal derogatory English) A Roman Catholic

1. n. a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement [syn: peasant, barbarian, boor, churl, Goth, tike]

2. a young person of either sex; "she writes books for children"; "they're just kids"; "`tiddler' is a British term for youngsters" [syn: child, kid, youngster, minor, shaver, nipper, small fry, tiddler, tike, fry, nestling]

Tyke may refer to:

• Tyke (character), an MGM cartoon character
• Tyke, a name given to people from Yorkshire, and Tyke (dialect), the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire
• Tyke, a Roman Catholic - Australian slang
• Tyke (dog), a dog whose ancestry is generally unknown and that has characteristics of two or more types of breeds
• Tyke (elephant), a female circus elephant
• Tyke (given name), an American masculine given name
• Tyke (pigeon), a Second World War homing pigeon who was awarded the Dickin Medal for gallantry in 1943.
• Tyke (DJ), a British drum and bass producer and DJ.
• Tyke (Human Child), A term used for a small child i.e. "The little tyke is down for his nap right now"

Tyke (1974 – August 20, 1994) was an African elephant who performed with Circus International of Honolulu, Hawaii. On August 20, 1994, during a performance at the Neal Blaisdell Center, she killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and injured her groomer, Dallas Beckwith. Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through the streets of the Kakaako central business district for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at the animal, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died. While the majority of the attack in the arena was recorded on consumer videotape by several spectators, additional, professional video footage captured the attack on local publicist Steve Hirano and the shooting of Tyke herself (both of which took place outside of the building).

Tyke is an American masculine given name, and may refer to:

• Tyke Peacock (born 1961), American high jumper
• Tyke Tolbert (21st century), American football coach

Tyke, also known as 'George' and carrying the service number 1263 MEPS 43, was a male Second World War homing pigeon who was awarded the Dickin Medal for gallantry in 1943 for delivering a message from a downed aircrew. His medal was sold for £4,830 ($7,313) in July 2000.