Hobbit

Etymology 1
The word hobbit has an unknown origin. However, as designating a diminutive legendary creature, it fits seamlessly into a category of English words in hob- for such beings. The Middle English word hobbe has manifested in many creatures of folklore as the prefix hob-. Related words are : hob, hobby, hobgoblin, Hobberdy Dick, Hobberdy, Hobbaty, hobbidy, Hobley, hobbledehoy, hobble, hobi, hobyn (small horse), hobby horse (perhaps from Hobin), Hobin (variant of the name Robin), Hobby (nickname for Robert), hobyah, Hob Lantern.

The only source known today that makes reference to hobbits in any sort of historical context is the Denham Tracts by Michael Aislabie Denham. More specifically, it appears in the Denham Tracts, edited by James Hardy, (London: Folklore Society, 1895), vol. 2, the second part of a two-volume set compiled from Denham's publications between 1846 and 1859.

The text contains a long list of sprites and bogies, based on an older list, the Discovery of Witchcraft, dated 1584, with many additions and a few repetitions. The term hobbit is listed in the context of

boggleboes, bogies, redmen, portunes, grants, hobbits, hobgoblins, brown-men, cowies, dunnies

The most famous use comes from J.R.R. Tolkien in 1937, featuring in the novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Ostensibly from a hypothetical *holbytla "hole-builder".

Noun

 * 1) A fictional race of small humanoids with shaggy hair and hairy feet.
 * 2) * 2008, Tom Holt, Falling Sideways, Orbit books, ISBN 1-84149-110-1, p. 3:
 * It was his thirty-third birthday and already he had a little round tummy like a hobbit,
 * 1)  A member of any race of small humans or hominids.
 * 2) * 2007 September 20, Christopher Joyce, “Case Grows for ‘Hobbit’ as Human Ancestor”, All Things Considered, National Public Radio,
 * Although partial remains of other Hobbits have surfaced at the same site, they say it could have been an isolated colony of inbred people who shared the same genetic abnormalities.
 * But Matthew Tocheri says he thinks the Hobbit is an ancient ancestor and the ultimate survivor.

Translations

 * Arabic: هوبيت
 * Breton: hobbit
 * Bulgarian: хобит
 * Catalan: hòbbit
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: 霍比特人; 哈比人
 * Croatian:
 * Czech:
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto: hobito
 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * Georgian: ჰობიტი
 * German:


 * Hebrew: הוביט
 * Hungarian:
 * Icelandic:
 * Irish: hobad
 * Italian:
 * Japanese:
 * Korean: 호빗
 * Norwegian:
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian:
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: hobbit (in “The Hobbit”), hob (in “The Lord of the Rings”)
 * Turkish: hobit
 * Ukrainian: хоббіт

Etymology 2
Unknown

Noun

 * 1) A Welsh unit of weight, equal to four Welsh pecks, or 168 pounds

Noun

 * 1) hobbit

Noun

 * 1) hobbit