hob

Meanings

Noun

• A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.
• The flat projection or iron shelf at the side of a fire grate, where things are put to be kept warm.
• The top cooking surface on a cooker; a cooktop. It typically comprises several cooking elements (often four), also known as 'rings'.
• A rounded peg used as a target in several games, especially in quoits.
• A male ferret.
• The hub of a wheel.
• A fairy; a sprite; an elf; a bogey.
• A countryman; a rustic or yokel.

Verb

• To create (a gear) by cutting with a hob.
• To engage in the process of cutting gears with a hob.

Related

Similar words

• cooktop, stovetop
• See goblin

Origin

• Related to hub, but the ultimate origin of both words is obscure.
• From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French diminutive of Robert), through its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (later) the devil. Compare hobgoblin; see robin.