lobby

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɒb.i/ (UK); /ˈlɑ.bi/, /ˈlɒb.i/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin lobia, laubia, a covered walk, portico,^[2][3][4] from a Germanic source, compare Old High German louba, hall, roof, and German Laube (“covered way, arbour”).^[2][3][5] It is a doublet of lodge, loge and loggia.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cloister or covered walk in a monastery: 1553 in the OED, the 1550s in Etymonline, 1533 in Barnhart.^[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

After the dissolution of the monasteries the word passed into houses, and a lobby became an antechamber or entrance hall,^[6] from 1593, in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2.^[2][7] The lobby of the House of Commons, where members met people from outside, is from 1640.^[7][2][3] Those who frequent the lobbies to influence legislators are first recorded in 1808 in American English,^[2][7] by the 1790s in Etymonline.^[3] The verb, to seek to influence legislation, is American from 1826,^[3] lobbyist from 1863,^[2] and a business or interest group in general from 1952.^[7]

Timeline

• 1553 – a cloister.^[7]
• 1593 – an entrance hall.^[2]
• 1640 – the lobby of the Commons.^[7]
• 1808 – those who lobby.^[2]
• 1826 – to lobby (verb).^[3]
• 1863 – lobbyist.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An entrance hall, foyer or waiting room in a building such as a hotel or theatre.
2. A hall in a legislative building where members meet the public.
3. A group trying to influence legislators on behalf of a particular cause.
4. (British) A division lobby, where members go to vote.

Verb

1. To try to influence legislators or officials for or against a cause.

Word family

• lobbyer
• lobbyism
• lobbyist
• unlobbied

Related words

• lodge
• loge
• loggia

Usage notes

In Lancashire and Yorkshire dialect, a lobby was a narrow passage.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)