Hobby

Did you have hobbies when you were a child? Do you still have hobbies?
 
Do you like the word hobby? Would you prefer a different word? Avocation? Craft? Obsession? Pastime? Hobbies are often perceived as not serious; e.g., his collection of hockey cards is ‘just a hobby’.
 
Where does the word hobby come from?
 
Hobby come to English around 1400 as hobi or hobyn (a small, active horse) and was probably a proper name given to a playful or lively horse in the way we’d name a pet dog or cat. A related name was dobbin, a nickname or short form of Robert or Robin. Perhaps the names ‘hobby’ and ‘robby’ have similar origins?
 
By the 1550s, a hobbyhorse was a wickerwork figure of such a small active horse was worn as a costume (a ‘morris horse’) and was part of the ancient English morris-dance tradition. A morris-horse was a horse that didn’t go anywhere—it was just for fun. These mock horses were also part of church and civic celebrations at Midsummer and New Year throughout England.
 
By the 1580s, a hobbyhorse, a crafted horse’s head on the end of a stick, referred to a child’s toy riding horse. Today, these toys are called ‘stick horses’.
 
The idea of a hobby, a shortening of hobbyhorse, as a favorite pursuit (often for relaxation) is from 1816. The word hobbyist, someone devoted to some pursuit simply for the delight of it, is from 1830. At this time during the early 19th century, perhaps more and more people began to have the leisure time for ‘hobbies’ in contrast to the demands of daily life for most people in previous times.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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