hobbit
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hobbit¹
- /ˈhɒbɪt/
- [-ɪʔ]
Rhymes with -ɒbɪt
Where it comes from
Coined in its current sense by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 1930s, featured in the novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Jocularly etymologized by him as from a hypothetical Old English *holbytla (literally “hole-builder”), from hol (“hole”) + bytlan (“to build”) + -a (“-er”). Tolkien was possibly influenced by similar terms for house-sprites (probably from Hob, a hypocoristic form of Robert), or an isolated mention of hobbits (with hobgoblins following immediately afterwards) in a list of sprites and bogies from the 19th-century Denham Tracts.
noun hobbits · hobbitses
-
A member of a fictional race of small humanoids with shaggy hair and hairy feet.
It was his thirty-third birthday and already he had […] a little round tummy like a hobbit
Similar: halfling
-
A person of short stature.
Similar: halfling
- An extinct species of hominin, Homo floresiensis, with a short body and relatively small brain, fossils of which have been recovered from the Indonesian island of Flores. 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.
- A socially unappealing, overly academic student.
hobbit²
Where it comes from
Probably from hoppet, hobbet (“basket”).
noun hobbits
- A Welsh unit of weight, equal to four Welsh pecks, or 168 pounds.
- An old unit of volume (2+¹⁄₂ bushels, the volume of 168 pounds of wheat).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hobbet, hobbitry, halfling, hoblin, werehog, hooman, hobiler, hobgoblinry, hobbler, hobohemian, yahoo, hobeler, huboon, hobber, hogwartian, hobbetyhoy
Translations
Every language
noun fictional small humanoid creature
| Español | hobbit |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 호빗 hobit |
| 日本語 | ホビット hobitto |
| 中文 | 霍比特人 huòbǐtè-rén |
| Português | hobbit |
| Français | hobbit |
| Deutsch | Hobbit |
| Italiano | hobbit |
| Ελληνικά | χόμπιτ chómpit, Χόμπιτ Chómpit |
| Русский | хо́ббит xóbbit |
| العربية | هُوبِيت hūbit |
| עברית | הוֹבִּיט hóbit |
noun An extinct species of hominin
| Français | homme de Florès |
|---|
Talk about this word "hobbit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hobbit. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hobbit. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hobbit "hobbit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hobbit.Cite this
@misc{hobbit_2026,
title = {hobbit},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hobbit},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
