lobby

English Online Dictionary. What means lobby‎? What does lobby mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɒb.i/
  • Rhymes: -ɒbi
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ.bi/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈlɔb.i/

Etymology 1

From Old French *lobie, from Medieval Latin lobium, lobia, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”).

Related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of lodge and loggia.

Political sense derives from the entrance hall of legislatures, where people traditionally tried to influence legislators because it was the most convenient place to meet them.

Noun

lobby (plural lobbies)

2. An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.

3. That part of a hall of legislation not appropriated to the official use of the assembly.
4. (politics) A class or group of interested people who try to influence public officials; collectively, lobbyists.

5. (video games) A virtual area where players can chat and find opponents for a game.
6. (nautical) An apartment or passageway in the fore part of an old-fashioned cabin under the quarter-deck.
7. A confined place for cattle, formed by hedges, trees, or other fencing, near the farmyard.
8. A margin along either side of the playing field in the sport of kabaddi.
9. A waiting area in front of a bank of elevators.
   • 2005, Charles R. "Butch" Farabee Jr., Death, Daring, and Disaster (page 135)

     Ranger Leslie Thompson, assigned to elevator duty, brought the elevator to the surface about 12:30 to bring down the tourists who were in the lobby of the elevator tower at that time.

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

lobby (third-person singular simple present lobbies, present participle lobbying, simple past and past participle lobbied)

1. (intransitive, transitive) To attempt to influence (a public official or decision-maker) in favor of a specific opinion or cause.
   • 2002, Jim Hightower, in Wikiquote

     The corporations don't have to lobby the government anymore. They are the government.

   • 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1):

     Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Yeah, it's not a big deal. I lobbied for fuel-cell technology on Capitol Hill. I'm friends with Sandy Bullock, really good friends. Who cares? It's not a pissing contest, right, J?

Derived terms

Related terms

• lobbying
• lobbyist

Translations

Etymology 2

Shortened from lobscouse.

Noun

lobby (uncountable)

1. (West Midlands) lobscouse

Further reading

• “lobby”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “lobby”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “lobby”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English lobby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔ.bi/

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

1. lobby (hall)
2. lobby (advocacy group)

   Synonym: groupe de pression

Further reading

• “lobby”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔb.bi/
• Rhymes: -ɔbbi
• Hyphenation: lòb‧by

Noun

lobby f (invariable)

1. lobby (group of people; hall of a bank)

Derived terms

• lobbista

Further reading

• lobby in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby. Doublet of lodżia, loggia, and loża.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔb.bɘ/, /ˈlɔb.bi/
• Rhymes: -ɔbbɘ, -ɔbbi
• Syllabification: lob‧by

Noun

lobby n (indeclinable)

1. (politics) lobby (group of people who try to lobby)

Derived terms

Further reading

• lobby in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• lobby in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Pronunciation

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

1. Alternative spelling of lóbi

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby.

Noun

lobby n (uncountable)

1. lobby

Declension

Spanish

Alternative forms

• lobi

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lobby. Doublet of lonja.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlobi/ [ˈlo.β̞i]
• Rhymes: -obi

Noun

lobby m (plural lobbies)

1. lobby (group of people who try to influence public officials)

   Synonyms: grupo de presión, (Latin America) grupo de cabildeo

2. lobby (entryway or reception area)

   Synonym: vestíbulo

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Related terms

References

Further reading

• “lobby”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English lobby.

Noun

lobby c

1. a lobby (entryway or reception area)
2. (politics) a lobby

Declension

Derived terms

• hotellobby
• lobbygrupp
• lobbying
• lobbyism
• lobbyist
• lobbykampanj
• lobbyorganisation
• vapenlobby

References

• lobby in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• lobby in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)