hobby

[hob-ee]

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noun, plural hob·bies.

an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation: Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.

a child's hobbyhorse.

Archaic. a small horse.

Idioms

ride a hobby, to concern oneself excessively with a favorite notion or activity.Also ride a hobbyhorse.

Origin of hobby

1325–75; Middle English hoby(n), probably for Robin, or Robert (cf. hob²), used as horse's name, as in dobbin

Related formshob·by·ist, nounhob·by·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hobbyist

connoisseur, hobbyist, fancier, authority, antiquarian, finder, antiquary, accumulator, gatherer, compiler

Examples from the Web for hobbyist

Contemporary Examples of hobbyist

So why is one considered fine art and the other the harmless pastime of a hobbyist?
Art on the Tracks
Malcolm Jones
February 1, 2014

Historical Examples of hobbyist

The moment you become a tradesman you cease to be a hobbyist.
In the Name of the Bodleian and Other Essays
Augustine Birrell
Glaring down at the hobbyist, Stonecypher gripped the staff and rotated thick wrists outward.
Thy Rocks and Rills
Robert Ernest Gilbert
Dan's index finger failed to reach the trigger, for a guardian machine gun removed the hobbyist's head in a short efficient burst.
Thy Rocks and Rills
Robert Ernest Gilbert

British Dictionary definitions for hobbyist

hobby

noun plural -bies

an activity pursued in spare time for pleasure or relaxation

archaic, or dialect a small horse or pony

short for hobbyhorse (def. 1)

an early form of bicycle, without pedals

Derived Formshobbyist, noun

Word Origin for hobby

C14 hobyn, probably variant of proper name Robin; compare dobbin

hobby

noun plural -bies

any of several small Old World falcons, esp the European Falco subbuteo, formerly used in falconry

Word Origin for hobby

C15: from Old French hobet, from hobe falcon; probably related to Middle Dutch hobbelen to roll, turn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hobbyist

1830, from hobby + -ist. Hobbyism is recorded from 1846.

hobby

late 13c., hobyn, "small horse, pony," later "mock horse used in the morris dance," and c.1550 "child's toy riding horse," which led to hobby-horse in a transferred sense of "favorite pastime or avocation," first recorded 1670s, shortened to hobby by 1816. The connecting notion being "activity that doesn't go anywhere." Probably originally a proper name for a horse (cf. dobbin), a diminutive of Robert or Robin. The original hobbyhorse was a "Tourney Horse," a wooden or basketwork frame worn around the waist and held on with shoulder straps, with a fake tail and horse head attached, so the wearer appears to be riding a horse. These were part of church and civic celebrations at Midsummer and New Year's throughout England.