hobby English · revision 2190

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhɒ.bi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈhɑ.bi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hoby]], ''hobyn'' “small horse”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) of uncertain origin,^(Barnhart 1995) probably from a pet form of the name ''Robin'' or ''Robert'' used as a name for a horse,^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) compare ''dobbin''.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Old French ''hobi, hobin'' are now thought to be borrowings from English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small or middle-sized horse; an ambling horse or pony (1375).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates the form ''hobyn'' to 1298.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A ''hobby-horse'' was a toy or mock horse, such as a child's stick horse or the figure in the morris dance (1557).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) From the 1670s ''hobby-horse'' also meant a favourite pastime,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) perhaps with the idea of an activity that goes nowhere,^(Etymonline) and ''hobby'' in this sense is a shortening of it (1816).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) A separate word ''hobby'', a small falcon, comes from Old French ''hobel''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1298 – ''hobyn'', a small horse.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1375 – a small horse or pony.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1557 – ''hobby-horse'', a toy horse.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1676 – ''hobby-horse'', a favourite pastime.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1816 – a favourite pursuit pursued for pleasure.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1819 – an early kind of bicycle.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation outside one's regular occupation.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A small horse.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+ # A child's hobbyhorse.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hobbyist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hobbyhorse]]

+ * [[dobbin]]

+ * [[Robin]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The falcon called a ''hobby'' (''Falco subbuteo'') is a different word, from Old French ''hobel''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}