Hobby

Hobby is one of my favourite words. Let me tell you why:

Originally it was a proper name for a horse. Remember Dobbin? The Merchant of Venice? :))

GOBBO:
Lord worshipped might he be! what a beard hast thou
got! thou hast got more hair on thy chin than
Dobbin my fill-horse has on his tail.

LAUNCELOT
It should seem, then, that Dobbin's tail grows
backward: I am sure he had more hair of his tail
than I have of my face when I last saw him.

Hobby started off as meaning a "small horse, pony," later "mock horse used in the morris dance," and in the 16th century it became "a child's toy riding horse". From a child's toy to the meaning we all know today it's just a small step.

And guess what? The connecting notion between a child's toy and today's meaning for hobby is the fact that both activities do not go anywhere :))It's good to have a hobby! Activity for amusement :) If ever you turn pro, don't stop being a hobbyist!