Hobbies Wikipedia

A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for entertainment, typically done during one's free times. For examples of hobbies like collecting, creative and artistic pursuits, making, tinkering, sports and adult education. Engaging in a hobby can lead to get skill's, knowledge and experience. People also enjoy participating in competitive hobbies such as athletics, hockey, curling, golf...etc

What are hobbies for some people are professions for others. For example, a chef may enjoy playing computer games as a hobby, whilst a professional game tester might enjoy cooking. Generally , the person who engages in an activity for fun, not remuneration, is called an amateur (or hobbyist), as distinct from a professional.

 

Etymology

 

The term "hobby horse" has been found in documented form in a 1557 payment confirmation for a "Hobby horse" from Reading, England. The item, originally called a "Tourney Horse", was made of a wooden or baskets frame and was designed to mimic a real horse, with a fake tail and head, for church and civic occasions. In the 13th century, the term "hobyn" was used, meaning "little horse or pony", and by 1816 the derivative, "hobby", had been introduced into the vocabulary of an unknown number of English people. Over the course of subsequent centuries, the term persisted and developed into its 21st century meaning of "recreational" or "leisurely pursuit".

Hobbies are now practiced for interest and entertainment, rather than financial reward, and in the 17th century the term was used in a pejorative sense due to the childish origins of the term. That is, to engage in one's hobby equated to the horse outfit from the term's formulation and was considered a puerile overindulgence that would yield no benefit. In the 21st century, personal fulfillment is the aim of hobbies in First World Western nations such as England and they are widely useful in such societies. Although, in the United Kingdom (UK), the pejorative noun "anorak" (similar to the Japanese "otaku", meaning a geek or enthusiast) is often applied to people who obsessively pursue a particular hobby that is otherwise considered boring.