shakester, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

shakester n.

also shickster

[mispron. of Yid. shikse, a gentile female; according to Hotten (1867) a term used by the costers to refer to the women of the class immediately above, i.e. tradesmen’s wives/daughters]

1. a gentile woman.

1873		in Sl. Dict. 286: Shickster see Shakester: Amongst Jews the word signifies a woman of shady antecedents. Supposed to be derived from the Hebrew, SHIKTZA. It is generally pronounced ‘shickser’.
1937–84		Partridge DSUE (1984) 1049/2: late C.19–early 20.

2. a non-Jewish servant-girl.

1937–84

Partridge DSUE (1984) 1049/2: late C.19–early 20.

3. a woman.

1839		H. Brandon Dict. of the Flash or Cant Lang. 167: I buzzed a bloak and a shakester of a reader and a skin.
1847		G.W.M. Reynolds Mysteries of London III 85/1: No. 4 A cat, six pair of shakester’s crabs and a cule .
1848		Ladies’ Repository (N.Y.) Oct. VIII:37 317/1: Shakester, a respectable girl.
1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 90: SHAKESTER, a lady. [Ibid.] 91: SHICKSTER, a lady.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. [as cit. 1859].
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 71: Shakester, or Shickster, a female.