# On the origin of "hobo" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 7, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549 "2011-04-07T17:54:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9bd4f/32.png) [@grue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grue)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/1 "2011-04-07T17:54:36Z")
> **[What’s the origin of the word “hobo”?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341672/what-s-the-origin-of-the-word-hobo)** I had also heard that it was a portmanteau of “homeward bound,” from being a migrant/vagrant. It is also proposed as one of the possible etymologies on Wikipedia at [Hobo - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo) (citing Bryson’s “Made in America” as a source). ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/2 "2011-04-07T18:43:24Z")
The meaning of the illustration eludes me. A hobo jumping on a woman’s back? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/3 "2011-04-07T19:02:43Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > The meaning of the illustration eludes me. A hobo jumping on a woman’s back? I wonder if the original column didn’t have two questions and the woman is from the other one. That is a pretty short question and answer. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/4 "2011-04-07T22:36:40Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > The meaning of the illustration eludes me. A hobo jumping on a woman’s back? > [@hajario](#): > > I wonder if the original column didn’t have two questions and the woman is from the other one. That is a pretty short question and answer. Uh, I could be wrong, but do you guys forget that a woman of ill repute is called a ho? So the Ho “boy” is is serving the “ho” and he is not stepping on her, but doing a Thai foot massage. > **[The Art of Thai Foot Massage: A Step-by-Step Guide: Gall, Simon Piers:...](https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Foot-Massage-Step-Step/dp/1844091384)** > > The Art of Thai Foot Massage: A Step-by-Step Guide \[Gall, Simon Piers\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Art of Thai Foot Massage: A Step-by-Step Guide ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/5 "2011-04-08T00:43:42Z")
From the [Word Detective](http://www.word-detective.com/2007/07/31/hobo/): > [@](#): > > The term “hobo” is first attested in print in the late 1800s in the Pacific Northwest, and almost immediately theories arose as to its origin. The English dialect terms “hawbuck” and “hawbaw,” meaning “an unmannerly lout” (Oxford English Dictionary) have been proposed as sources, but England was a world away from the Northwest US in those days. A more logical local source may have been the greeting shout “Ho, boy!” apparently common among railroad workers at the time. There’s also a suggestion that “hobo” is short for “hopping boxcars,” and some maintain that “hobo” is short for Hoboken, NJ, where many rail lines converged in the 19th century, making the city a natural gathering point for vagabonds. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/6 "2011-04-08T01:40:43Z")
> [@grue](#): > > [What’s the origin of the word “hobo”? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/495/whats-the-origin-of-the-word-hobo) > > I had also heard that it was a portmanteau of “homeward bound,” from being a migrant/vagrant. It is also proposed as one of the possible etymologies on Wikipedia at [Hobo - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo) (citing Bryson’s “Made in America” as a source). First off–that Wikipedia article is terrible. It doesn’t address the current state-of-the-art research on the word _hobo._ Citing Bryson is useless. He’s a good writer, terrible etymologist. There has never been any serious evidence that it’s from “homeword bound.” The idea that railroad workers greeted each other with “Ho, boy” is totally unfounded. Here’s the latest and probably the correct answer. The term first appears in print in 1885. From 2-3 cites in that time frame, it is proposed that the term “ho bo” was a cry of greeting between these knights of the road. This is the concensus of the American Dialect Society Mailing List. [Oldest cite](http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0905D&L=ADS-L&P=R3224&I=-3&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&m=77162) [Barry Popik’s find from 1888](http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0606D&L=ADS-L&P=R10273&I=-3&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&m=43412) ---
**Author:** ![Namurti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ad7895/32.png) [@Namurti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namurti)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/7 "2011-04-10T18:32:01Z")
I heard on NPR that it was short for Hoe- Boy. As in, boy with a hoe. Indeed referring to migrant workers that would carry a hoe with them as that was one tool that could easily be got and looked after and transported along to the next field of labor. Different than a bum, a ho-bo was willing to work instead of beg for handouts. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/8 "2011-04-10T20:00:50Z")
> [@Namurti](#): > > I heard on NPR that it was short for Hoe- Boy. As in, boy with a hoe. Indeed referring to migrant workers that would carry a hoe with them as that was one tool that could easily be got and looked after and transported along to the next field of labor. Different than a bum, a ho-bo was willing to work instead of beg for handouts. This has been discarded by most etymologists as a source. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/9 "2011-04-11T01:17:20Z")
Hmm, after perusing the thread, I thought of checking the Ngram viewer, smoothing turned off. [http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=Hobo%2Chobo&year\_start=1800&year\_end=1880&corpus=0&smoothing=0](http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=Hobo%2Chobo&year_start=1800&year_end=1880&corpus=0&smoothing=0) ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/10 "2011-04-11T12:43:44Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Hmm, after perusing the thread, I thought of checking the Ngram viewer, smoothing turned off. > > [http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=Hobo%2Chobo&year\_start=1800&year\_end=1880&corpus=0&smoothing=0](http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=Hobo%2Chobo&year_start=1800&year_end=1880&corpus=0&smoothing=0) Interesting, but it appears the vast majority of results are false positives. “Hoboken” being one major one. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/11 "2011-04-11T16:02:22Z")
Wouldn’t Hoboken always be capitalized? ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/12 "2011-04-11T16:04:31Z")
Our dumb animals: Volumes 68-71 Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - 1835 - > [@](#): > > “The hobo dejectedly reached under his shirt, drew forth a half loaf of French bread. … The hobo told, simply and truthfully, the whole weary story — how he had lost his last job when the firm went out of ..” > **["hobo" - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22hobo%22&tbs=bks:1,cdr:1,cd_min:1818,cd_max:1846&lr=lang_en)** ---
**Author:** ![jbaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/59ef9b/32.png) [@jbaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/15 "2011-04-11T18:19:18Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Our dumb animals: Volumes 68-71 > > Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - 1835 - > > ["hobo" - Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22hobo%22&tbs=bks:1,cdr:1,cd_min:1818,cd_max:1846&lr=lang_en) FXMastermind, this is a dating error by Google Books. The quoted passage is from the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/16 "2011-04-11T19:11:11Z")
That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/17 "2011-04-11T19:12:41Z")
> [@jbaker](#): > > FXMastermind, this is a dating error by Google Books. The quoted passage is from the 20th century. 1935, to be exact. The Massachusetts SPCA was founded in 1868. ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/18 "2011-04-13T14:19:04Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Wouldn’t Hoboken always be capitalized? True, I forgot that the Google Books search is non-case-sensitive even though ngrams is case-sensitive. Regardless, it still appears that most of those early results are false positives. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/19 "2011-04-13T15:15:51Z")
So, it’s still a mystery? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/20 "2011-04-14T00:01:04Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > So, it’s still a mystery? Not if you go back and read my post(#6) and the links. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/21 "2011-04-14T02:38:41Z")
Obo! ---
**Author:** ![ichabop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6bbea6/32.png) [@ichabop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ichabop)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549/22 "2011-05-06T05:27:09Z")
Actually a hobo traditionally has not been a migrant worker. There are three levels on the lowerarchy relating to mobility and work. 1. Bums stay in the same place and don’t work. 2. Hobos move around and don’t work. 3. Tramps move around and work i.e. migrants. This distinction still holds today. There are hobo jungles and migrant laborers routinely call each other tramps. One would never refer to someone who worked as a migrant a hobo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-hobo/577549.md?page=2)