hobbler

English

Etymology 1

Old English also hobeler, Old French hobelier, Medieval Latin hobellarius (“light horseman”). See hobby (“a horse”). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

hobbler (plural hobblers)

1. (historical) One who by tenure was to maintain a horse for military service; a kind of light-horseman in the Middle Ages who was mounted on a hobby.
   • 1954, James Francis Lydon, The hobelar: An Irish contribution to medieval warfare, Irish Sword, II, v, pp. 12–16.
     • However superior the Norman knight might be upon the field of battle, the bogs and woods of Ireland gave little opportunity for the mail-clad charge. Thus there evolved in Ireland, as a habitual part of every Anglo-Norman force, a type of light horseman, which came to be known as the hobelar.
   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

     no man shall be constrained to find men at arms, hobblers, nor archers, other than those who hold by such service

2. A small horse.
   • 2005, Maureen Rylance, The Spur on the Plate:

     The horse was one of the finest I had seen, not a hobbler. This was a far more delicate creature.

3. An unlicensed pilot, casual dock labourer, etc.
4. A man who tows a canal boat with a rope.

Alternative forms

• (light horseman): hobiler

Etymology 2

hobble +‎ -er

Noun

hobbler (plural hobblers)

1. One who hobbles.

References

• “hobbler”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.