hob

Etymology 1

Related to hub, but the ultimate origin of both words is obscure.

noun

1. A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.
2. (historical) The flat projection or iron shelf at the side of a fire grate, where things are put to be kept warm.
   They went into a dingy room lined with books and littered with papers, where there was a blazing fire. A kettle steamed upon the hob, and in the midst of the wreck of papers a table shone, with plenty of wine upon it, and brandy, and rum, and sugar, and lemons. 1898, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Book the Second, Chapter V (The Jackal)
3. (Britain, Australia, New Zealand) The top cooking surface on a cooker; a cooktop. It typically comprises several cooking elements (often four), also known as 'rings'.
4. A rounded peg used as a target in several games, especially in quoits.
5. A male ferret.
6. The hub of a wheel.
   August 31 1776, George Washington, letter to the President of Congress the wheels of the carriages sinking up to the hobs rendered it impossible for our whole force to drag them.

verb

1. (transitive) To create (a gear) by cutting with a hob.
2. (intransitive) To engage in the process of cutting gears with a hob.

Etymology 2

From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French [Term?] diminutive of Robert), through its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (later) the devil. Compare hobgoblin; see robin.

noun

1. (obsolete) A fairy; a sprite; an elf; a bogey.
2. (obsolete) A countryman; a rustic or yokel.
   More fitter for the Country Hobs. 1682, Langley Curtis, New News from Bedlam