Hoboes
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Etymology The origin of the term is unknown. According to etymologist Anatoly Liberman, the only certain detail about its origin is the word was first noticed in American English circa 1890. The term has also been dated to 1889 in the Western United States, Western—probably Northwestern United States, Northwestern—United States, and to 1888. Liberman points out that many folk etymology, folk etymologies fail to answer the question: "Why did the word become widely known in California (just there) by the early Nineties (just then)?" Author Todd DePastino mentions possible derivations from "hoe (tool), hoe-boy", meaning "farmhand", or a greeting "Ho, boy", but that he does not find these convincing. Bill Bryson suggests in ''Made in America ...
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