"Hobson-Jobson" meaning in English

See Hobson-Jobson in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˌhɒb.sənˈdʒɒb.sən/ [UK], /ˌhɑb.sənˈdʒɑb.sən/ [US] Audio: en-au-Hobson-Jobson.ogg [Australia] Forms: Hobson-Jobsons [plural]
Etymology: Derived from adapting the call Hassan! Hussein! (حَسَن حُسَيْن (ḥasan ḥusayn), a lament for the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad) to Hobson and Jobson, a pair of comic figures popular in the nineteenth century. Note that the conventional derivation from "Ya Hassan! Ya Hussein!" is incorrect. Coined in the linguistic sense by Yule and Burnell in their dictionary Hobson-Jobson. Etymology templates: {{m|ar|حَسَن حُسَيْن}} حَسَن حُسَيْن (ḥasan ḥusayn) Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} Hobson-Jobson (countable and uncountable, plural Hobson-Jobsons)
  1. (Anglo-Indian, slang, obsolete) Any Indian religious observance, especially the Muharram. Tags: countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
    Sense id: en-Hobson-Jobson-en-noun-7573UjNo
  2. (linguistics, uncountable) The assimilation of borrowed lexis, either partial or whole, to word forms of the borrowing language. Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Linguistics
    Sense id: en-Hobson-Jobson-en-noun--yKHhl98 Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences
  3. (linguistics, countable) A word or phrase borrowed by one language from another and modified in pronunciation to fit the set of sounds the borrowing language typically uses. Tags: countable Categories (topical): Linguistics Synonyms: hobson-jobson Derived forms: law of Hobson-Jobson, Hobson-Jobsonism Related terms: approximation, eggcorn, folk etymology, calque, mondegreen, phono-semantic matching, Entries referring to at Wiktionary (english: Hobson-Jobson) Translations (borrowed word or phrase with altered pronunciation): erikoislaina (Finnish), traducción mocosuena [colloquial] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-Hobson-Jobson-en-noun-Rwpmm6Zn Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English reduplications Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 30 56 Disambiguation of English reduplications: 14 24 62 Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences Disambiguation of 'borrowed word or phrase with altered pronunciation': 3 19 78

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for Hobson-Jobson meaning in English (6.7kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ar",
        "2": "حَسَن حُسَيْن"
      },
      "expansion": "حَسَن حُسَيْن (ḥasan ḥusayn)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Derived from adapting the call Hassan! Hussein! (حَسَن حُسَيْن (ḥasan ḥusayn), a lament for the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad) to Hobson and Jobson, a pair of comic figures popular in the nineteenth century. Note that the conventional derivation from \"Ya Hassan! Ya Hussein!\" is incorrect.\nCoined in the linguistic sense by Yule and Burnell in their dictionary Hobson-Jobson.",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "Hobson-Jobsons",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1851, Jamie Gordon, page 85",
          "text": "‘You must be moped to death in this dull place; and next week is Hobson Jobson. Can’t you throw some dust any how, in the eyes of the cat, and meet me and Philip somewhere, and so get away to the Tamacha.’",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1903 April 8, Queensland Figaro, Brisbane, page 23, column 2",
          "text": "The dusky sons of Mohammed have been having a high old time down at the British India Company’s wharves during the past few days. [. . .] It was the great week of ‘Hobson-Jobson,’ as it is known out East, or the time of the Mohurram.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
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      "glosses": [
        "Any Indian religious observance, especially the Muharram."
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      "id": "en-Hobson-Jobson-en-noun-7573UjNo",
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      ],
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          "ref": "1886, Henry Yule, A.C. Burnell, Hobson-Jobson, page 265",
          "text": "Falaun, s. […] gradually, by a process of Hobson-Jobson, this was turned into Forlorn.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1909 February 20, The Argus, Melbourne, page 6, column 4",
          "text": "Learned persons, especially those who know all about ‘Volksetymologie,’ whether under that imposing name, or more familiarly as ‘Hobson-Jobson,’ are advised to pass on to the next question.",
          "type": "quotation"
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          "_dis": "14 30 56",
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          "_dis1": "10 15 75",
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          "_dis1": "10 15 75",
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        {
          "ref": "1899 June 19, Indian Antiquary, page 161, column 2",
          "text": "CARAFT, here is a delicious Hobson-Jobson from that veritable well of curious Anglo-Indianisms, the Madras Manual of Administration[.]",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "1977, Robert H. Stacy, Defamiliarization in Language and Literature, page 51",
          "text": "If the French for pun, calembour, derives (as Spitzer maintained) from \"conundrum\"; this points up well the at first puzzling effect of such devices. Caran d'Ache is in fact an intentional hobson-jobson.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Jan Venolia, The Right Word!, page 4",
          "text": "A Hobson-Jobson turns a difficult word or phrase into something more tractable (or perhaps less offensive). By that route, a Texas river that French trappers had named Purgatoire became the Picketwire, and the Malay word kampong became the English word compound.",
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          "_dis1": "10 15 75",
          "word": "approximation"
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          "_dis1": "10 15 75",
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          "_dis1": "10 15 75",
          "word": "calque"
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          "english": "Hobson-Jobson",
          "urls": [
            "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&redirs=0&search=hobson-jobson&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns100=1&title=Special%3ASearch&advanced=1&fulltext=Advanced+search"
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          "word": "Entries referring to at Wiktionary"
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          "word": "hobson-jobson"
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      "tags": [
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      "topics": [
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          "_dis1": "3 19 78",
          "code": "fi",
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          "sense": "borrowed word or phrase with altered pronunciation",
          "word": "erikoislaina"
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          "_dis1": "3 19 78",
          "code": "es",
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          "tags": [
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        }
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  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ˌhɒb.sənˈdʒɒb.sən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌhɑb.sənˈdʒɑb.sən/",
      "tags": [
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    {
      "audio": "en-au-Hobson-Jobson.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/En-au-Hobson-Jobson.ogg/En-au-Hobson-Jobson.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/En-au-Hobson-Jobson.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
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  ],
  "word": "Hobson-Jobson"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English autological terms",
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    "English lemmas",
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    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
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  "etymology_text": "Derived from adapting the call Hassan! Hussein! (حَسَن حُسَيْن (ḥasan ḥusayn), a lament for the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad) to Hobson and Jobson, a pair of comic figures popular in the nineteenth century. Note that the conventional derivation from \"Ya Hassan! Ya Hussein!\" is incorrect.\nCoined in the linguistic sense by Yule and Burnell in their dictionary Hobson-Jobson.",
  "forms": [
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      "tags": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
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      "word": "approximation"
    },
    {
      "word": "eggcorn"
    },
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      "word": "folk etymology"
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      "word": "calque"
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      "word": "mondegreen"
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      "urls": [
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      "word": "Entries referring to at Wiktionary"
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        "English terms with obsolete senses",
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        {
          "ref": "1851, Jamie Gordon, page 85",
          "text": "‘You must be moped to death in this dull place; and next week is Hobson Jobson. Can’t you throw some dust any how, in the eyes of the cat, and meet me and Philip somewhere, and so get away to the Tamacha.’",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1903 April 8, Queensland Figaro, Brisbane, page 23, column 2",
          "text": "The dusky sons of Mohammed have been having a high old time down at the British India Company’s wharves during the past few days. [. . .] It was the great week of ‘Hobson-Jobson,’ as it is known out East, or the time of the Mohurram.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
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      "glosses": [
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      ],
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Anglo-Indian, slang, obsolete) Any Indian religious observance, especially the Muharram."
      ],
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        "uncountable"
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          "ref": "1886, Henry Yule, A.C. Burnell, Hobson-Jobson, page 265",
          "text": "Falaun, s. […] gradually, by a process of Hobson-Jobson, this was turned into Forlorn.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1909 February 20, The Argus, Melbourne, page 6, column 4",
          "text": "Learned persons, especially those who know all about ‘Volksetymologie,’ whether under that imposing name, or more familiarly as ‘Hobson-Jobson,’ are advised to pass on to the next question.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
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      ],
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        {
          "ref": "1899 June 19, Indian Antiquary, page 161, column 2",
          "text": "CARAFT, here is a delicious Hobson-Jobson from that veritable well of curious Anglo-Indianisms, the Madras Manual of Administration[.]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1977, Robert H. Stacy, Defamiliarization in Language and Literature, page 51",
          "text": "If the French for pun, calembour, derives (as Spitzer maintained) from \"conundrum\"; this points up well the at first puzzling effect of such devices. Caran d'Ache is in fact an intentional hobson-jobson.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Jan Venolia, The Right Word!, page 4",
          "text": "A Hobson-Jobson turns a difficult word or phrase into something more tractable (or perhaps less offensive). By that route, a Texas river that French trappers had named Purgatoire became the Picketwire, and the Malay word kampong became the English word compound.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
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        "(linguistics, countable) A word or phrase borrowed by one language from another and modified in pronunciation to fit the set of sounds the borrowing language typically uses."
      ],
      "tags": [
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      "topics": [
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/En-au-Hobson-Jobson.ogg",
      "tags": [
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "hobson-jobson"
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "borrowed word or phrase with altered pronunciation",
      "word": "erikoislaina"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "borrowed word or phrase with altered pronunciation",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
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      "word": "traducción mocosuena"
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  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "List of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms"
  ],
  "word": "Hobson-Jobson"
}
{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: Anglo-Indian, slang, obsolete",
  "path": [
    "Hobson-Jobson"
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  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "Hobson-Jobson",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: Anglo-Indian, slang, obsolete",
  "path": [
    "Hobson-Jobson"
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  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "Hobson-Jobson",
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}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (1d5a7d1 and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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