hobby

hobby
\ \ Hobby in the sense ‘pastime’ is short for hobbyhorse. This originated in the 16th century as a term for the figure of a horse used in morris dances: the element hobby, used since the 14th century for a ‘small horse’, was derived from Hob, a pet form of the man’s name Robert or Robin which survives also in hobgoblin [16].
\ \ From the morris-dance hobbyhorse was descended the toy hobbyhorse, a stick with a horse’s head on top; and the notion of ‘riding a hobbyhorse’, which could not actually take you anywhere, passed metaphorically into ‘doing something only for amusement’ – hence the meaning ‘pastime’, first recorded for hobbyhorse in the 17th century and for the shortened hobby in the early 19th century. Hobby ‘bird of prey’ [15] comes from Old French hobet, a diminutive form of hobe ‘small bird of prey’, whose origins are not known.
\ \ Cf.⇒ HOBBYHORSE, HOBGOBLIN

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:
, , / , / , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • hobby — hobby …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • hobby — [ ɔbi ] n. m. • 1815, répandu mil. XXe; mot angl. hobby (horse) « dada » ♦ Anglic. Passe temps, loisirs favoris (cf. Violon d Ingres). Des hobbys ou des hobbies. ⊗ HOM. Obi. ⇒HOBBY, subst. masc. Activité favorite à laquelle on se livre durant ses …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • *hobby — ● hobby, hobbies ou hobbys nom masculin (anglais hobby, dada) Passe temps favori servant de dérivatif aux occupations habituelles ; violon d Ingres. ● hobby, hobbies ou hobbys (difficultés) nom masculin (anglais hobby, dada) Orthographe …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Hobby — Sn std. (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus ne. hobby (horse), dessen Ursprung nicht mit letzter Sicherheit geklärt ist. Es bedeutet ursprünglich (13. Jh.) ein kleines Pferdchen, später die Nachbildung eines solchen aus Holz usw. Das Bild vom… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • hobby — HÓBBY, hobbyuri, s.n. (Englezism) Ocupaţie favorită a cuiva în afara profesiunii. [Scris şi: hoby. – pr.: hobi] – Din engl., fr. hobby. Trimis de gall, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  HOBBY [pr.: hóbi] hobbyuri n. Ocupaţie, îndeletnicire plăcută în… …   Dicționar Român

  • hobby — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 7}}[wym. hobbi a. hobby] {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}rz. n ndm {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} aktywność prowadzona poza pracą zawodową, sprawiająca komuś przyjemność; zainteresowania, którym poświęca się wolny czas; konik, pasja : {{/stl 7}}{{stl… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • hobby — in the sense ‘pastime’ is short for hobbyhorse. This originated in the 16th century as a term for the figure of a horse used in morris dances: the element hobby, used since the 14th century for a ‘small horse’, was derived from Hob, a pet form of …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • Hobby — Hob by, n.; pl. {Hobbies}. [OE. hobi; cf. OF. hobe, hob[ e], F. hobereau a hobby, a species of falcon. OF. hober to move, stir. Cf. {Hobby} a horse.] (Zo[ o]l.) A small, strong winged European falcon ({Falco subbuteo}), formerly trained for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hobby — Hob by, Hobbyhorse Hob by*horse , n. [OE. hobin a nag, OF. hobin hobby; cf. hober to stir, move; prob. of German or Scand. origin; cf. Dan. hoppe a mare, dial. Sw. hoppa; perh. akin to E. hop to jump.] 1. A strong, active horse, of a middle size …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hobby — Hob by, Hobbyhorse Hob by*horse , n. [OE. hobin a nag, OF. hobin hobby; cf. hober to stir, move; prob. of German or Scand. origin; cf. Dan. hoppe a mare, dial. Sw. hoppa; perh. akin to E. hop to jump.] 1. A strong, active horse, of a middle size …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”