hobby

hobby is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.A strong, active horse, of a middle size, said to have been originally from Ireland; an ambling nag. Johnson.
  2. 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. 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.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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