I found the word in an old letter (1838); the actual spelling might be "bobbing," but that still doesn't help. (Keep in mind it might not mean the same thing now that it meant 170 years ago.)
2006-12-26 15:46:25 · 5 answers · asked by nacmanpriscasellers 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Perhaps I failed to make it clear that the word should be thought of in a 19th Century context, perhaps pertaining to the frontier. ("Battery operated boyfriend," indeed!!!) I think it might have something to do with horses, but I'm not sure.
2006-12-26 16:00:56 · update #1
I'm not sure of the context. The letter in question is one I'm using as a source for my Master's thesis; "bobing," whatever it is, has nothing to do with the topic, but I was curious as to what it meant.
2006-12-26 16:48:16 · update #2
perhaps it has something to do with hair? what context is it in?
more specifically i think it has something to do with the way the horse's tail/hair is cut
Everything that I have found, other than misspellings, is "bobing" used in sentences that involve horses. I have found some information that says it means that the horse's tail is cut straight across. However, I have found "bobing" in a message board as well :
http://www.oldeenglish.org/board/viewtopic.php?p=62872&sid=7dd692fddc44b2919c319080909a61bb
I hope that this helps!
2006-12-26 16:08:02 · answer #1 · answered by Holy Macaroni! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is hard to determine without knowing the context in which the word is used. However, you may be interested to know that much vocabulary in the horse world is timeless, meaning that many of the same words used 170 years ago are still being used today for similar, if not the same things.
In the English language, it does vary in that the British have different words than Americans. With that wordy preface ;-), here is more than you probably will ever want to know about horsey vocabulary:
In horse terminology, "bobbing" is when a horse shakes its head up and down- usually considered a vice of an impatient animal. (i.e, My horse bobs his head in the crossties when he is tired of standing there.)
Cutting a horse's mane to the neck is called "roaching", otherwise a short, but present mane is a "pulled" mane.
A horse that has a shortened tail has one that is called "docked"- think Budweiser Clydesdales.
2006-12-27 01:26:08 · answer #2 · answered by Amx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I doubt this will be the correct answer but "bob" these days stands for "battery operated boyfriend" by most females. They use it to refer to their sex toy of choice as you can figure.
So it's very possible "bobing" could be slang for a female masterbating with her "BOB".
Just a thought.
2006-12-26 23:56:56 · answer #3 · answered by Tyrone S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bob1 /bÉb/ Pronunciation[bob] noun, verb, bobbed, bob·bing.
–noun
1.a short, jerky motion: a bob of the head.
–verb (used with object)
2.to move quickly down and up: to bob the head.
3.to indicate with such a motion: to bob a greeting.
–verb (used without object)
4.to make a jerky motion with the head or body.
5.to move about with jerky, usually rising and falling motions: The ball bobbed upon the waves.
—Verb phrase
6.bob up, to emerge or appear, esp. unexpectedly: A familiar face bobbed up in the crowd.
2006-12-26 23:53:04 · answer #4 · answered by whattheflp 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think bobbing has changed any in the last 170 years and it still feels just as good too!!!!
2006-12-26 23:52:23 · answer #5 · answered by Get Real 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋