hobo

See also: hóbo

English

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly a term for a stowaway traveler out of the Hoboken, NJ train yards, or a contraction of ho, boy, or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”). It could also be an abbreviation for homeless boy, homeward bound, or homeless Bohemian.

Pronunciation

• enPR: hō'bō, IPA^(key): /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbəʊ

Noun

hobo (plural hobos or hoboes)

1. (Canada, US) A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum.
2. (Canada, US) Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
3. 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

• 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.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:vagabond

Derived terms

Derived terms

• hobohemia
• hoboism

• hobo spider
• hobo stove
• murderhobo

Translations

homeless person

• Bulgarian: бездомник (bg) m (bezdomnik)
• Catalan: rodamón (ca) m or f
• Dutch: dakloze (nl) m, zwerver (nl) m, vagebond (nl) m, landloper (nl) m
• Finnish: kulkuri (fi), pummi (fi)
• French: vagabond (fr) m, clochard (fr) m
• German: obdachlos (de)
• Italian: senzatetto (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Navajo: naʼałjidí
• Polish: bezdomny (pl) m, kloszard (pl) m
• Portuguese: mendigo (pt) m, mendiga f
• Romanian: vagabond (ro) m, boschetar m (slang)
• Russian: бомж (ru) m (bomž), бездо́мный (ru) m (bezdómnyj)
• Turkish: evsiz barksız

tramp, vagabond; bum

• Bulgarian: скитник (bg) m (skitnik)
• Dutch: leegloper (nl) m, vagebond (nl) m
• Finnish: pummi (fi)
• German: Vagabund (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀλήτης m (alḗtēs)

• Italian: vagabondo (it)
• Japanese: ルンペン (runpen)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: planus m, errō (la) m
• Navajo: naʼałjidí
• Polish: tramp (pl) m, wagabunda (pl) m, włóczęga (pl) m
• Portuguese: vagabundo (pt) m, vagabunda (pt) f
• Romanian: vagabond (ro) m, vagabondă (ro) f, derbedeu (ro) m, hoinar (ro) m
• Swedish: luffare (sv) n, vagabond (sv) n
• Tagalog: bayabay

migratory worker

• Bulgarian: сезонен работник m (sezonen rabotnik)
• Finnish: siirtotyöläinen (fi)
• French: saisonnier (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: robotnik sezonowy m
• Portuguese: sazonal (pt)
• Romanian: sezonier (ro) m, sezonieră f

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

• French: clochard (fr) m, clodo (fr), sans-abri (fr) m, vagabond (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Slovak: tulák m
• Spanish: vagabundo (es)

Verb

hobo (third-person singular simple present hobos, present participle hoboing, simple past and past participle hoboed)

1. (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.

Anagrams

• Boho, boho

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch hobo, from French hautbois.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦʊəˈbʊə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

hobo (plural hobo's, diminutive hobootjie)

1. oboe

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French hautbois, from Middle French [Term?].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦoːˈboː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ho‧bo
• Rhymes: -oː

Noun

hobo m (plural hobo's, diminutive hobootje n)

1. oboe (woodwind)

Derived terms

• hoboïst

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Japanese

Romanization

hobo

1. Rōmaji transcription of ほぼ