Among the amusements in England of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially in the May-day celebrations, was one known as the morris dance.
Its original name had been “Moorish dance,” and some of the features, probably borrowed from the Moors of Spain, were long retained.
Thus, although the group of characters costumed for the dance always included a Robin Hood, a Maid Marian, and a Friar Tuck, others, fantastically arrayed, were intended to represent Moorish dancers, some garbed as clowns, some with bells dangling from long hoods, and some with bells on their ankles.
Usually also one of the Moors was represented as riding on an Arabian steed. The “steed” was a figure made of wicker, covered with hide or cloth to resemble a small horse, but actually fastened about the waist of the person supposed to be riding it.
Its “rider” pranced about to show off the spirited nature of the steed. This make-believe steed became known as a hobbyhorse, probably because hobby had long been the term for a small horse, just as “dobbin” indicated a farm horse. From the use of the hobbyhorse in the morris dance, someone got the notion to convert it into a plaything for a child.
Thus, since the sixteenth century some such imitation, variously constructed, has been a childhood favorite. Sometimes a child gets such enjoyment from his toy horse as to abandon all other playthings, and whenever awake, will furiously ride his hobbyhorse or hobby, which early became the shortened name.
This favorite pastime was likened, even in the seventeenth century, to the devotion some men exhibit to a subject or an occupation that was at first taken up for amusement.
Thus hobbyhorse, later shortened to hobby, came to denote any pursuit which is of great interest to an individual, though followed only for pleasure.
Related Posts
-
Where does the word “hobbyhorse” originate and What does hobbyhorse mean?
The term itself is merely repetition, as, six centuries ago, a hobby was a horse, a small horse, probably a nickname for Robin. But hobbyhorse comes to us from the sixteenth-century morris dance,…
-
Where Did the Word “Hobby” For an Activity Done in Leisure Come From and What Does it Mean?
Hobby is a word used to describe an avocation done for diversion or self-pleasure. Few people find fulfillment working for someone else, and so many express their individuality within a hobby. The word…
-
How Did a Classified Ad Lead to the World’s Most Popular Hobby?
In 1841, the London Times carried a most unusual classified ad. It was placed by a young woman interested in wallpapering her bedroom walls. And she wanted to do it with postage stamps!…
-
What does the word “gauntlet” mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
During the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, the English forces observed a form of disciplinary punishment used among their German allies. It looked highly effective, so it was not…
-
What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word “incubus” come from?
In the Middle Ages any woman who gave birth to a witch or sorceress was supposed to have been visited, in her sleep, by a male demon or evil spirit. The name given…
-
Where does the word “Toilet” come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
The word "toilet" has had a rather curious development in the little more than four hundred years it has been in the language. Its origin was the French toilette, the diminutive of wile,…
