Hob"ble*bush` (?), n. (Bot.) A low bush (Viburnum lantanoides) having
long, straggling branches and handsome flowers. It is found in the
Northern United States. Called also shinhopple.
{ Hob"ble*de*hoy` (?), Hob"ble*te*hoy` (?), } n. [Written also
hobbetyhoy, hobbarddehoy, hobbedehoy, hobdehoy.] [ Cf. Prob. E.
hobbledygee with a limping movement; also F. hobereau, a country
squire, E. hobby, and OF. hoi to-day; perh. the orig. sense was, an
upstart of to-day.] A youth between boy and man; an awkward, gawky
young fellow . [Colloq.]
All the men, boys, and hobbledehoys attached to the farm.
Dickens. .
Hob"bler (?), n. One who hobbles.
Hob"bler, n. [OE. also hobeler, OF. hobelier, LL. hobellarius. See
Hobby a horse.] (Eng. Hist.) One who by his tenure was to maintain a
horse for military service; a kind of light horseman in the Middle Ages
who was mounted on a hobby. Hallam. Sir J. Davies.
Hob"bling*ly (?), adv. With a limping step.
Hob"bly (?), a. Rough; uneven; causing one to hobble; as a hobbly road.
Hob"by (?), n.; pl. Hobbies (#). [OE. hobi; cf. OF. hobe, hobÈ, F.
hobereau a hobby, a species of falcon. OF. hober to move, stir. Cf.
Hobby a horse.] (Zoˆl.) A small, strong-winged European falcon (Falco
subbuteo), formerly trained for hawking.
{ Hob"by (?), Hob"by*horse` (?), } n. [OE. hobin a nag, OF. hobin
hobby; cf. hober to stir, move; prob. of German or Scand. origin; cf.
Dan. hoppe a mare, dial. Sw. hoppa; perh. akin to E. hop to jump.] 1. A
strong, active horse, of a middle size, said to have been originally
from Ireland; an ambling nag. Johnson.
2. A stick, often with the head or figure of a horse, on which boys
make believe to ride. [ Usually under the form hobbyhorse.]
3. A subject or plan upon which one is constantly setting off; a
favorite and ever-recurring theme of discourse, thought, or effort;
that which occupies one's attention unduly, or to the weariness of
others; a ruling passion. [Usually under the form hobby.]
Not one of them has any hobbyhorse, to use the phrase of Sterne.
Macaulay.
Hob`by*hors"ic*al (?), n. Pertaining to, or having, a hobby or whim;
eccentric; whimsical.[Colloq.] Sterne.
Hob"gob`lin (?), n. [See 2d Hob, and Goblin.] A frightful goblin; an
imp; a bugaboo; also, a name formerly given to the household spirit,
Robin Goodfellow. Macaulay.
Hob"i*ler (?), n.[See 2d Hobbler.] A light horseman. See 2d Hobbler.
[Obs.] Brande & C.
Ho"bit (?), n. [See Howitzer.] (Mil.) A small mortar on a gun carriage,
in use before the howitzer.
Hob"nail` (?), n. [1st hob + nail.] 1. A short, sharp-pointed, large-
headed nail, -- used in shoeing houses and for studding the soles of
heavy shoes.