bob

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to move quickly up and down; a short haircut or a small weight

   The cork began to bob as a fish tugged the line.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Bob has many uses but no known origin. One group of uses implies shortness, as in terms for a docked horse’s tail, a short bunch of hair or curls, a short wig, and the later hairstyle. Another group involves quick, short movement, with bob in the sense of moving up and down recorded from late Middle English. The late-18th-century British use meaning “a shilling” appears unrelated to these senses, and its origin is also unknown.

From Middle English bobben ('to strike, jolt, move up and down'), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative or from a Celtic source.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary