hobo
See also: hóbo
English
editEtymology
editUnknown. Possibly a contraction of ho, boy or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”).
Pronunciation
editenPR: hō'bō
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈhoʊ.boʊ/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈhəʉ.bəʉ/
- Rhymes: -əʊbəʊ
Noun
edit- (Canada, US) A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum.
- (Canada, US) Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
- A kind of large handbag.
- 1989, Susan Ludwig, Janice Steinberg, Petite Style, page 46:
- Avoid bulky styles such as duffle sacks, buckets, doctors' satchels, and hobos.
Usage notes
edit- Often used attributively, as if an adjective. For example, "hobo stew", "he was leading a hobo life."
- Although informal usage considers hobo synonymous with bum, self-proclaimed hobos sometimes distinguish themselves as migrant workers rather than unemployed bums.[1]
Synonyms
edit- See also Thesaurus:vagabond
Derived terms
editTranslations
edithomeless person
|
tramp, vagabond; bum
|
migratory worker
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Verb
edithobo (third-person singular simple present hobos, present participle hoboing, simple past and past participle hoboed)
- (intransitive, perhaps pejorative) To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.
- Joe idly hoboed through half the country till he realized hoboing never gets you anywhere in life.
References
edit- ^ Tales of the Iron Road: My Life As King of the Hobos.
Anagrams
editAfrikaans
editEtymology
editFrom Dutch hobo, from French hautbois.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editDutch
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French hautbois, from Middle French [Term?].
Pronunciation
editNoun
edithobo m (plural hobo's, diminutive hobootje n)
- oboe (woodwind)
Derived terms
editJapanese
editRomanization
edithobo
Categories:
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- Rhymes:English/əʊbəʊ
- Rhymes:English/əʊbəʊ/2 syllables
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- en:People
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- Rhymes:Dutch/oː
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