Where does “hobby” come from?
hobby (French) comes from English hobby, from English hobby-horse, from Middle English hoby, from Albanian hobe, from Middle Low German hōpen, from Old Saxon hopon, from Proto-West Germanic hopōn — to hope, to expect.
hobby (French): hobby
Ancestry of “hobby”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | hobby | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare... |
| 2 | English | hobby-horse | Alternative spelling of hobby horse |
| 3 | Middle English | hoby | — |
| 4 | Albanian | hobe | catapult, sling |
| 5 | Middle Low German | hōpen | to hope |
| 6 | Old Saxon | hopon | — |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | hopōn | to hope, to expect |