HOBBY  , a small See also:

• HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse, probably from See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early quotations, of Irish breed, trained to an easy gait so that See also:

• RIDING

riding was not fatiguing . The See also:

• COMMON

common use of the word is for a favourite pursuit or occupation, with the See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea either of excessive devotion or of See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of ulterior See also:

• MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive or of profit, &c., outside the occupation itself . This use is probably not derived from the easy ambling gait of the Irish " hobby," but from the " hobby-horse," the See also:

• MOCK

mock horse of the old See also:

• MORRIS
• MORRIS [MORRISON], CLARA (1849– )
• MORRIS, GOUVERNEUR (1752–1816)
• MORRIS, JOHN (1810-1886)
• MORRIS, RICHARD (1833–1894)
• MORRIS, ROBERT (1734–1806)
• MORRIS, SIR LEWIS (1833–1907)
• MORRIS, WILLIAM (1834-1896)

morris-dances, made of a painted wooden horse's See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head and tail, with a framework casing for an actor's See also:

• BODY

body, his legs being covered by a See also:

• CLOTH

cloth made to represent the " housings " of the See also:

• MEDIEVAL

medieval tilting-horse . A hobby or hobby-horse is thus a See also:

• TOY
• TOY, CRAWFORD HOWELL (1836– )

toy, a diversion . 'The O . Fr. hobin, or hohi, Mod. See also:

• AUBIN

aubin, and Ital. ubina are probably adaptations of the See also:

• ENGLISH

English, according to the New English See also:

• DICTIONARY

Dictionary . The O . Fr. hober, to move, which is often taken to be the origin of all these words, is the source of a use of " hobby " for a small See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of See also:

• FALCON
• FALCON (Lat. Falco;' Fr. Faucon; Teutonic, Falk or Valken)

falcon, falco subbuteo, used in hawking .