hobnob

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*né“not”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-“to grab, seize”
3. Old English · inherited fromhabban“to have, possess”
4. English todayhobnob

From hob and nob, hob or nob (“a phrase spoken when making a toast, possibly meaning ‘give and take’; to take turns toasting or buying rounds of drinks”) (archaic), from dialectal hab nab (“to have or have not, in the sense of an invitation to have a drink”), from Old English habban (“to have, possess”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize”)) + nabban (“to not have”) (from ne (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”)) + habban).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from early 19th c. To toast one another by touching glasses.