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hobbyhorse

hobbyhorse

1 7.2
A toy horse on a stick that a child sits on and pretends to ride
  • noun
  • /ˈhɑbiˌhɔrs/
  • Baby Talk
translation icon : caballito de madera
  • As Selma Vilhunen describes a key finding of her recent documentary film Hobbyhorse Revolution, "teenagers with growing pains... discover their own voice and talent through riding and making hobbyhorses" (Tuffifilms 2017; also Fig. 3).

Examples

  • Every time he visits his grandmother, he rides the old wooden hobbyhorse that she kept in the attic.

  • Given the alternatives, the choice to ride this primarily educational hobbyhorse may make the best sense.

    Academic text (1996)

  • She had made herself a hobbyhorse that she rode with her little sister and her best friend, who had equivalent companions.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The little girl happily rode her new hobbyhorse around the living room, pretending she was on a grand adventure.

  • He bought a colorful hobbyhorse for his daughter's birthday, so she could enjoy riding it in the yard.

Synonyms

horsey
vshobbyhorse
  • Baby Talk
15 5.6

A child's toy horse used for play

is the specific mounted toy rather than any small model
hobby
vshobbyhorse
  • Baby Talk
4 9.9

A toy horse a child rocks while sitting and pretending to ride

has identical meaning but is an alternative name
rocking horse
vshobbyhorse
3 1.3

A child's toy horse on curved rockers that moves when you sit on it

covers that type but also stick-mounted versions
stick horse
vshobbyhorse
  • Baby Talk
1 2.3

A toy with a horse head on a stick that a child pretends to ride

includes stick versions but also rockers mounted models
cockhorse
vshobbyhorse
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A thing that a child rides for play, like a toy rocking horse or a person's knee

is limited to the mounted toy and not the knee meaning

How Realistic

hobbyhorse
  • Baby Talk
1 7.2
stick horse
  • Baby Talk
1 2.3

Surface Forms

hobbyhorse singular
hobbyhorses plural

Morphology

hobbyhorse = hobby + horse (semi-transparent) = hobby + horse

The components 'hobby' and 'horse' are visible, but the modern sense 'toy horse on a stick' depends on an archaic/use-specific sense of 'hobby' and is not fully predictable from the contemporary meaning of 'hobby' as 'pastime'.

Etymology

Hobbyhorse originally named a child's toy made to look like a little horse. The part hobby once meant 'small horse', so hobby + horse pictured a toy you could 'ride', which is why the word still means the toy today.