hub

[huhb] /hʌb/
noun
1.
the central part of a wheel, as that part into which the spokes are inserted.
2.
the central part or axle end from which blades or spokelike parts radiate on various devices, as on a fan or propeller.
3.
a center around which other things revolve or from which they radiate; a focus of activity, authority, commerce, transportation, etc.:
Chicago is a railroad hub.
4.
the Hub, Boston, Mass. (used as a nickname).
5.
the peg or hob used as a target in quoits and similar games.
6.
any one of the holes in an electrical panel, into which connections may be plugged.
7.
Coining. a design of hardened steel in relief, used as a punch in making a die.
8.
Surveying. a stake bearing a tack used to mark a theodolite position.
9.
Metalworking. a die forced into a metal blank.
verb (used with object), hubbed, hubbing.
10.
Metalworking. to stamp (a metal blank) with a hub.
Origin
1505-15; perhaps variant of hob1
Synonyms
3. core, pivot, heart.
Examples from the web for hub
  • It was also a sophisticated urban center and hub of regional trade.
  • In the first, a central hub surrounded by eight spokes, the animals were required to return to a specific starting point.
  • hub dynamos are tiny electric generators, hidden in the wheel's hub, that produce a steady current while you ride.
  • The design features three rotor blades wrapped around a conical hub to create a kind of helix.
  • Other solutions tend towards the complicated, with magnets or hub dynamos providing the juice.
  • The space is branded somehow so that users know that this is the research help hub.
  • The suburbs and exurbs are connected via a pretty efficient train hub.
  • The heart of the setup is still the sensor integrated into the rear hub.
  • The emerging world, by contrast, will be a whirling hub of dynamism and creativity.
  • Taking care of kids gives the brain's prefrontal cortex--the hub of decision-making and task-switching--a tough workout.
British Dictionary definitions for hub

hub

/hʌb/
noun
1.
the central portion of a wheel, propeller, fan, etc, through which the axle passes
2.
the focal point
3.
(computing) a device for connecting computers in a network
Word Origin
C17: probably variant of hob1
Word Origin and History for hub
n.

"solid center of a wheel," 1640s, perhaps from hubbe, originally "lump," the source of hob of a fireplace and hobnail, as in boots. A wheelwright's word, not generally known or used until c.1828; it reached wider currency in connection with bicycles. Meaning "center of interest or activity or importance" first recorded 1858 in writings of Oliver W. Holmes, and originally especially of Boston.

"Boston State-House is the hub of the solar system." [O.W. Holmes, "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table"]


"[E]verybody knows that Boston used to be called the Hub, meaning the hub of the universe. It may still be the hub, because the center of a wheel moves slowly." [J.P. Marquand, "Life," March 24, 1941]

hub in Technology

networking
(By analogy with the hub of a wheel) A device connected to several other devices.
In ARCnet, a hub is used to connect several computers together. In a message handling service, a number of local computers might exchange messages solely with a hub computer. The hub would be responsible for exchanging messages with other hubs and non-local computers.
(1995-01-16)