hobnob
[hob-nob]
- to associate on very friendly terms (usually followed by with): She often hobnobs with royalty.
- Archaic. to drink together.
- a friendly, informal chat.
Origin of hobnob
1595–1605; from the phrase hab or nab literally, have or have not, Old English habban to have + nabban not to have (ne not + habban to have)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hobnob
Historical Examples
He'd not turn from the duty intrusted to him to hobnob with a Prince of the Blood.
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II)Charles James Lever
Again I am struck by the familiar way in which the Russians hobnob with the Mongols.
A Wayfarer in ChinaElizabeth Kendall
You would not wish to insult me by refusing to hobnob with me?
The Red TrackGustave Aimard
Here on the road they are as good as any; they hobnob with the rose.
In the OpenStanton Davis Kirkham
How odd it is that the Joyeuses should care to hobnob with demi-castors.
The MonsterEdgar Saltus
hobnob
- to socialize or talk informally
- obsolete to drink (with)
Word Origin
C18: from hob or nob to drink to one another in turns, hence, to be familiar, ultimately from Old English habban to have + nabban not to have
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hobnob
v.
1763, "to drink to each other," from hob and nob (1756) "to toast each other by turns, to buy alternate rounds of drinks," from c.1550 hab nab "to have or have not, hit or miss," probably ultimately from Old English habban, nabban "have, not have," with the negative particle ne- attached, as was customary. Modern sense of "socialize" is 1866. Related: Hobnobbed; hobnobbing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper