Editing Hobbit (section)

{{short description|Fictional race from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium}}
{{other uses}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox fictional race
| name               = Hobbit
| other_names        = Halflings, ''Holbytlan'', ''Periannath''
| image              = <!--1. No fan art, please. 2. Images in copyright must be of a Hobbit (not a Hobbit-hole, etc.), and must have a specific and validly completed non-free usage rationale for this specific usage: [[WP:NFUR]]-->
| series             = [[Middle-earth]]
| first_major        = [[The Hobbit]]
| creator            = [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]
| home_world         = [[Middle-earth]]
| capital            = [[Michel Delving]]
| base_of_operations = [[The Shire]], [[Bree (Middle-earth)|Bree]]
| sub_races          = Harfoots, Fallohides, Stoors
| language           = [[Westron]]
| leaders            = [[The Shire#Government|Thain; Mayor of the Shire; Master of Buckland]]
| members            = {{ubl|[[Bilbo Baggins]]|[[Frodo Baggins]]|[[Samwise Gamgee]]|[[Merry Brandybuck]]|[[Pippin Took]]|[[Gollum]]}}
}}

'''Hobbits''' are a fictional race of people in the novels of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as '''halflings''' in Tolkien's writings, they live barefooted, and traditionally dwell in homely<!--British English--> underground houses which have windows, built into the sides of hills, though others live in houses. Their feet have naturally tough leathery soles (so they do not need shoes) and are covered on top with curly hair.

Hobbits first appeared in the 1937 children's novel ''[[The Hobbit]]'', whose titular Hobbit is the protagonist [[Bilbo Baggins]], who is thrown into an unexpected adventure involving a [[dragon]]. In its sequel, ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', the hobbits [[Frodo Baggins]], [[Sam Gamgee]], [[Pippin Took]], and [[Merry Brandybuck]] are primary characters who all play key roles in fighting to save their world ("[[Middle-earth]]") from evil. In ''The Hobbit'', hobbits live together in a small town called Hobbiton, which in ''The Lord of the Rings'' is identified as being part of a larger rural region called [[the Shire]], the homeland of the hobbits in the northwest of Middle-earth. Some also live in a region east of the Shire, [[Bree (Middle-earth)|Bree-land]], where they co-exist with [[Men in Middle-earth|Men]]. 

The origins of the name and idea of "Hobbits" have been debated; literary antecedents include [[Sinclair Lewis]]'s 1922 novel ''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]'', and Edward Wyke Smith's 1927 ''[[The Marvellous Land of Snergs]]''. The word "hobbit" also appears in a list of ghostly beings in [[Denham Tracts|The Denham Tracts]] (1895), though these bear no similarity to Tolkien's Hobbits. Scholars have noted Tolkien's denial of a relationship with the word "[[rabbit]]", pointing to several lines of evidence to the contrary.<!--this is cited in the 'Rabbit' section below--> Hobbits are modern, unlike the heroic ancient-style cultures of [[Gondor]] and [[Rohan, Middle-earth|Rohan]], with familiar things like umbrellas, matches, and clocks. As such they mediate between the modern world known to readers and the heroic ancient world of Middle-earth. 

[[Halfling]]s appear as a race in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', and the works of other fantasy authors including [[Terry Brooks]], [[Jack Vance]], and [[Clifford D. Simak]].