hobby

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun an auxiliary activity
  2. noun a child's plaything consisting of an imitation horse mounted on rockers; the child straddles it and pretends to ride
  3. noun small Old World falcon formerly trained and flown at small birds

Etymology

Shortened from hobby-horse, from Middle English hoby, hobyn, hobin (“small horse, pony”), from Old French hobi, *haubi, haubby, hobin ("a nag, hobby"; > Modern French aubin, Italian ubino), of Germanic origin: from Old French hober, ober (“to stir, move”), from Old Dutch hobben (“to toss, move up and down”); or from North Germanic origin related to Danish hoppe (“a mare”), Old Swedish hoppa (“a young mare”), North Frisian hoppe (“horse”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *huppōną (“to hop”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewb- (“to bend; a bend, joint”). More at hop, hobble. The meaning of hobby-horse shifted from "small horse, pony" to "child's toy riding horse" to "favorite pastime or avocation" with the connecting notion being "activity that doesn't go anywhere". Possibly originally from a proper name for a horse, a diminutive of Robert or Robin (compare dobbin).

In classic literature

Synonyms

avocation, by-line, pursuit, sideline, spare-time activity

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