• (British) IPA: /ˈhɒ.bi/
• (America) IPA: /ˈhɑ.bi/

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 odt hobben; or from gmq - origin related to Danish hoppe, gmq-osw hoppa, Northern Frisian hoppe; both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *huppōną, from Proto-Indo-European *kewb-.

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".

hobby (plural hobbies)

1. An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.

   I like to collect stamps from different countries as a hobby.

   take up a hobby

   give up your hobby

2. (horses) An extinct breed of horse native to the British Isles, also known as the Irish Hobby

• (activity done for enjoyment in spare time): avocation, pastime; See also Thesaurus:hobby

• hobbyhorse
• hobelar/hobeler

• French: passe-temps, hobby
• German: Hobby, Steckenpferd
• Italian: hobby, passatempo
• Portuguese: passatempo, hobby
• Russian: хо́бби
• Spanish: pasatiempo, hobby, afición

From Middle English hoby, hobeye, from Old French hobé, hobei, hobet, from Medieval Latin hopētus, diminutive of harpe.

hobby (plural hobbies)

1. Any of four species of small falcons in the genus Falco, especially Falco subbuteo.
   • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 323:

     He hawked – from nearby Esher, Richard Fox sent a servant with a hobby, which Henry received enthusiastically – and hunted, sending a present of freshly slaughtered deer to Princess Mary.

• French: hobereau
• German: Baumfalke
• Italian: falco, falcone
• Portuguese: ógea
• Russian: чегло́к
• Spanish: alcotán

1. Surname.