# hobby

Pronunciation: say "HO-bee" US /ˈhɑ.bi/, UK /ˈhɒ.bi/

## Noun

1. An activity that someone enjoys doing in their spare time.
   - Simple: Something you enjoy doing in your free time.
   - _Photography started as a casual hobby and grew into a serious pursuit._
   - _Many retirees take up new hobbies to fill their days with purpose._
2. Any of four small falcon species in the genus Falco, especially Falco subbuteo.
   - Simple: A small, fast falcon that hunts insects and other birds while flying.
   - _A hobby can snatch swifts and swallows in midair thanks to its remarkable speed._
   - _Hobbies migrate south to Africa to spend the winter._
3. A favorite topic or pet subject that a person repeatedly returns to in conversation.
   - Simple: A subject that someone talks about again and again because they care about it.
   - _Constitutional reform was his hobby, a theme he wove into every dinner conversation._
   - _She rode her usual hobby again, lecturing the whole table on medieval coinage._
4. A horse breed of the British Isles, known also as the Irish Hobby, that has since died out.
   - Simple: A small, fast breed of horse from Ireland and Britain that no longer exists.
   - _The medieval hobby carried light cavalry across Irish terrain with remarkable speed._
   - _Breeders crossed hobbies with other stock, and the original breed eventually died out._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–4** — Shortened from hobby-horse, which came from Middle English hoby, hobin ("small horse, pony"), from Old French, of Germanic origin, ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to hop." The meaning shifted from "small horse" to "child's toy riding horse" to "favorite pastime," the connecting idea being an activity that doesn't go anywhere. It possibly began as a name for a horse, a pet form of Robert or Robin.
**Meaning 2** — From Middle English hoby, hobeye, from Old French hobé, hobet, from Medieval Latin hopētus, a diminutive of harpe.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hobby (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).