hub English · revision 7955

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1511}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hʌb/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of unknown or uncertain origin,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) probably a variant of [[hob]], a shelf beside a fireplace,^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)^(Cresswell 2021) perhaps originally a lump or round protuberance.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The hob of a fireplace: 1511, obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that the word did not appear in any dictionary until the 19th century,^(Cresswell 2021) and Barnhart that the record shows it as a dialect word until then.^(Barnhart 1988) The central part of a wheel is from 1649,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) a wheelwright's word not generally known until about 1828, which spread with the vogue for cycling.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A centre of activity or importance is first recorded in 1858 in Oliver Wendell Holmes, who called the Boston State House the hub of the solar system,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and Boston itself was nicknamed the Hub.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) A transport centre and, in computing, a device connecting computers in a network are modern senses.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1511 – the hob of a fireplace.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1649 – the centre of a wheel.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1828 – in general use.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1858 – a centre of activity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The central part of a [[wheel]], fan or [[propeller]], through which the axle passes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A centre of activity or interest; a focal point.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An airport or station from which many routes operate.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' A device connecting computers in a network.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hubcap]]

+ * [[hub-and-spoke]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hob]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}