lobby

See also: Lobby

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /lɒbi/

• Audio (Berkshire)

  (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɒbi
• (US) IPA^(key): /lɑbi/

Etymology 1

From Old French *lobie, from Medieval Latin lobium, lobia, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”).

Related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of loggia.

Political sense derives from the entrance hall of legislatures, where people traditionally tried to influence legislators because it was the most convenient place to meet them.

Noun

lobby (plural lobbies)

1. An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.

   I had to wait in the lobby for hours before seeing the doctor.

2. That part of a hall of legislation not appropriated to the official use of the assembly.
3. (politics) A class or group of interested people who try to influence public officials; collectively, lobbyists.

   The influence of the tobacco lobby has decreased considerably in the US.

4. (video games) A virtual area where players can chat and find opponents for a game.
5. (nautical) An apartment or passageway in the fore part of an old-fashioned cabin under the quarter-deck.
6. A confined place for cattle, formed by hedges, trees, or other fencing, near the farmyard.
7. A margin along either side of the playing field in the sport of kabaddi.
8. (when preceded by "elevator") A waiting area in front of a bank of elevators.

Derived terms

• gun lobby
• lobbier
• lobbyism
• lobbyist

Descendants

Descendants of lobby in other languages

• → Armenian: լոբբի (lobbi)
• → Catalan: lobby
• → Danish: lobby
• → Dutch: lobby
• → French: lobby
• → German: Lobby
• → Italian: lobby
• → Japanese: ロビー (robī)
• → Korean: 로비 (robi)
• → Macedonian: лоби (lobi)
• → Polish: lobby
• → Portuguese: lóbi, lobby (unadapted spelling)
• → Russian: ло́бби (lóbbi)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  → Cyrillic: лоби

  → Latin: lobi

• → Slovene: lobi
• → Spanish: lobby

Translations

entryway or waiting area; vestibule

• Arabic: رَدْهَة‎ f (radha)
• Armenian: նախասրահ (hy) (naxasrah)
• Belarusian: калідо́р m (kalidór), вестыбю́ль m (vjestybjúlʹ), фае́ n (fajé), перадпако́й m (pjeradpakój)
• Bulgarian: преддве́рие (bg) n (preddvérie), фоайе́ (bg) n (foajé)
• Catalan: vestíbul (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 門廳／门厅 (zh) (méntīng), 休息室 (zh) (xiūxishì), 大廳／大厅 (zh) (dàtīng)

• Czech: předsíň (cs) f, foyer (cs) m
• Danish: lobby c
• Esperanto: vestiblo
• Etruscan: 𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌉𐌖𐌌 (atrium)
• Finnish: aula (fi), halli (fi), eteinen (fi), eteisaula, lobby (fi)
• French: vestibule (fr) m, foyer (fr) m, hall (fr) m
• Gallurese: patiu, intrata
• Georgian: ფოიე (poie)
• German: Lobby (de) n, Foyer (de) n, Vorraum (de) m, Vorhalle (de) f
• Hebrew: לוֹבִּי‎ (he) m (lóbi)
• Icelandic: anddyri (is) n, forstofa (is) f, forsalur m, fordyri n, forbyrgi n
• Irish: forhalla m
• Italian: atrio (it) m
• Japanese: ロビー (ja) (robī), 休息所 (きゅうそくじょ, kyūsokujo)
• Korean: 로비 (ko) (robi), 휴게소(休憩所) (ko) (hyugeso)
• Persian: سرسرا‎ (fa) (sarsarâ)
• Plautdietsch: Gank m
• Polish: korytarz (pl) m, westybul (pl) m, hol (pl) m, hall (pl) m, przedpokój (pl) m, sień (pl) m, foyer (pl) m, przedsionek (pl) m
• Portuguese: saguão (pt) m, vestíbulo (pt) m, átrio (pt) m
• Russian: коридо́р (ru) m (koridór), вестибю́ль (ru) m (vestibjúlʹ), фойе́ (ru) n (fojé), холл (ru) m (xoll), прихо́жая (ru) f (prixóžaja)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: patiu

  Logudorese: patiu m

• Sassarese: patiu
• Scottish Gaelic: eadar-sheòmar m, for-sheòmar m
• Slovak: predsieň f, foyer m
• Spanish: vestíbulo (es) m, recibidor m, zaguán (es) m, atrio (es) m
• Turkish: lobi (tr), dalan (tr)
• Ukrainian: коридо́р (uk) m (korydór), вестибю́ль m (vestybjúlʹ), фойє́ n (fojjé), хол m (xol), передпо́кій (uk) m (peredpókij)
• Vietnamese: hành lang (vi), phòng chờ, phòng đợi, tiền sảnh, đại sảnh

group of people who try to lobby

• Armenian: լոբբի (hy) (lobbi)
• Belarusian: ло́бі n (lóbi)
• Bulgarian: ло́би n (lóbi)
• Catalan: lobby m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遊說集團／游说集团 (yóushuì jítuán)

• Czech: lobby (cs) f
• Danish: lobby c
• French: lobby (fr) m
• German: Lobby (de) n
• Hebrew: שְׁדֻלָּה‎ (he) f (shdula), לוֹבִּי‎ (he) m (lóbi)
• Hungarian: lobbi
• Italian: lobby (it) f
• Japanese: ロビー (ja) (robī), 圧力団体 (ja) (あつりょくだんたい, atsuryoku dantai)
• Korean: 로비 (ko) (robi), 압력단체(壓力團體) (amnyeokdanche)
• Polish: lobby (pl) n
• Portuguese: lobby (pt) m, lóbi (pt) m
• Russian: ло́бби (ru) n (lóbbi)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: лоби m

  Roman: lobi (sh) m

• Slovene: lobi m
• Spanish: lobby (es) m
• Ukrainian: ло́бі (uk) n (lóbi)

Verb

lobby (third-person singular simple present lobbies, present participle lobbying, simple past and past participle lobbied)

1. (intransitive, transitive) To attempt to influence (a public official or decision-maker) in favor of a specific opinion or cause.

   For years, pro-life groups have continued to lobby hard for restrictions on abortion.

   • 2002, Jim Hightower, in Wikiquote

     The corporations don't have to lobby the government anymore. They are the government.

   • 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1):

     Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Yeah, it's not a big deal. I lobbied for fuel-cell technology on Capitol Hill. I'm friends with Sandy Bullock, really good friends. Who cares? It's not a pissing contest, right, J?

   • 2013 August 10, Schumpeter, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. Businesspeople have every right to lobby governments, and civil servants to take jobs in the private sector.

Related terms

• lobbying
• lobbyist

Translations

to attempt to influence

• Belarusian: лабі́раваць impf (labíravacʹ)
• Bulgarian: лоби́рам impf or pf (lobíram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遊說／游说 (zh) (yóushuì)

• Danish: lobbye
• Esperanto: fari premon
• Finnish: lobata (fi)
• French: faire pression sur
• Georgian: ლობირება (lobireba)
• German: lobbyieren (de)
• Hungarian: lobbizik
• Italian: fare pressioni su, esercitare influenza su, fare manovre di corridoio
• Polish: lobbować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: fazer lobby
• Russian: лобби́ровать (ru) impf (lobbírovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: coitich
• Sicilian: pruvari a cummìnciri, nzìstiri (scn), mprisiari (scn), èssiri mprisiusu
• Slovene: lobirati impf
• Spanish: cabildear (es), recabar (es), hacer lobbying
• Ukrainian: лобі́рувати impf (lobíruvaty)
• Vietnamese: vận động hành lang

Etymology 2

Shortened from lobscouse.

Noun

lobby (uncountable)

1. (West Midlands) lobscouse

   My mam cooked us lobby for tea last night.

Further reading

• lobby in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• lobby in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• lobby at OneLook Dictionary Search

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English lobby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔ.bi/

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

1. lobby (hall)
2. lobby (advocacy group)

   Synonym: groupe de pression

Further reading

• “lobby”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔb.bi/
• Rhymes: -ɔbbi
• Hyphenation: lòb‧by

Noun

lobby f (invariable)

1. lobby (group of people; hall of a bank)

Derived terms

• lobbista

Further reading

• lobby in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby, from Old French *lobie, from Medieval Latin lobium, lobia, laubia, from Frankish *laubijā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔb.bɨ/, /ˈlɔb.bi/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔbbɨ, -ɔbbi
• Syllabification: lob‧by

Noun

lobby n (indeclinable)

1. (politics) lobby (group of people who try to lobby)

Derived terms

adjectives

• lobbistyczny
• lobbystyczny

 

nouns

• lobbing
• lobbista
• lobbysta

 

verb

• lobbować impf

 

Further reading

• lobby in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• lobby in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlɔ.bi/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlɔ.bi/ [ˈlɔ.βi]

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

1. Alternative spelling of lóbi

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Noun

lobby n (uncountable)

1. lobby

Declension

declension of lobby (singular only)

	singular
n gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) lobby	lobbyul
genitive/dative	(unui) lobby	lobbyului
vocative	lobbyule

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby. Doublet of lonja.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlobi/ [ˈlo.β̞i]
• Rhymes: -obi

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbys)

1. lobby (group of people who try to influence public officials)

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “lobby”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014