Etymology

play hob with

Today it means: mess with, cause trouble for Full definition →

Middle English Hob ← Old French [Term?]
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The story

  1. Old French · derived from[Term?]
  2. Middle English · derived fromHob
  3. English todayplay hob with

From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, from Old French [Term?], a diminutive of Robert) in its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (subsequently) the devil. Compare hobgoblin.

Words from the same roots

Middle EnglishHob all →

hob

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.