Etymology

hobby horse

Today it means: The Irish Hobby, an extinct breed of horse. Full definition →

Middle English hobye hors
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromhobye hors“a stock figure in Morris dances, created by means of an exaggeratedly equine costume”
  2. English todayhobby horse

From Middle English hobye hors (“a stock figure in Morris dances, created by means of an exaggeratedly equine costume”), equivalent to hobby (“small horse or pony”) + horse.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.