hub

Etymology

From earlier hubbe, which has the same immediate origin as hob. Hub was originally a dialectal word; its ultimate origin is unknown.

noun

1. The central part, usually cylindrical, of a wheel; the nave.
   If you need to reload film, the cassette can be rewound slightly by turning the hub located on one end of its spool. 2011, Rebekah Modrak, Bill Anthes, Reframing Photography: Theory and Practice
2. A point where many routes meet and traffic is distributed, dispensed, or diverted.
   Hong Kong International Airport is one of the most important air traffic hubs in Asia.
   From the ground, Colombo's port does not look like much.[…] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka's capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India's southern tip. 2013-06-08, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52
   Doncaster is a rail hub in every sense. Passenger lines radiate in six directions, there are freight lines that bypass the station, extensive freight yards, a major works, and a rolling stock depot. May 19 2021, Philip Haigh, “Doncaster enhancements relying on DfT approval”, in RAIL, number 931, page 30
3. A central facility providing a range of related services, such as a medical hub or an educational hub.
4. (networking) A computer networking device connecting several Ethernet ports. See switch.
5. (surveying) A stake with a nail in it, used to mark a temporary point.
6. A male weasel; a buck; a dog; a jack.
7. (US) A rough protuberance or projecting obstruction.
   a hub in the road
8. (video games) An area in a video game from which individual levels are accessed.
   In a break with tradition, these levels are tackled in any order, with the next act chosen from a semi-random selection machine located in the game's hub area. 2014, Julian Hazeldine, Speedrun: The Unauthorised History of Sonic The Hedgehog, page 47
9. A goal or mark at which quoits, etc., are thrown.
10. A hardened, engraved steel punch for impressing a device upon a die, used in coining, etc.
11. A screw hob.
12. A block for scotching a wheel.