Hob (hearth)

For related uses see Hob.

In a kitchen the hob is a projection, shelf, grate or bench for holding food or utensils at the back or side of a hearth (fireplace) to keep them warm, or an internal chimney-corner. In modern British English usage, the word refers to a cooktop or hotplate, as distinguished from an oven.

• Hearths and Hobs
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  A fireplace in a German castle showing a brick hob.
• 
  Hearth and hob in a traditional Slovenian kitchen.
• 
  Reconstructed hearth and hob in the Fuggerei.
• 
  Colonial kitchen with a pitcher on the hob.
• 
  A cooktop is called a hob in modern British English.

• Fireplace hobs on both sides of the grate basket at the Ansley Wilcox Mansion.

Etymology

The word is a noun meaning approximately "holder", derived from the Old English verb habban "to have, hold". The word hub "support of a disk or wheel" is apparently from the same source.

References

Hob Cooktop