fob?

I have no idea, and I must admit Ive never thought about it.

However, I dont think its one of these ?

http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?...act&Acronym=FOB

Full of Baloney :lol:

 

Dictionary.com

Merriam-Webster Online

Edited to add a better answer:

From Steven Kahn:

My wife just asked me what the letters in the word fob stand for (you know, the little key-chain thing that locks and unlocks your car doors). I told her I haven't the foggiest, although I have always wondered about it. She then made fun of me because she says I think I know all the answers. Help me out here!

So, Steven, your wife told you that the letters f, o and b stand for something and you believed it, eh? Our advice is to humbly submit to your better half and beg her to divulge her answer. There is good reason for this. For one thing, you'll look good by deferring to her opinion (always a good idea.) but, more importantly, she's wrong, fob is not an acronym. So, either she has an incorrect answer which you can prove wrong, or she is bluffing and has no answer at all. Either way, you win.

OK, don't tell your wife that we told you this but fob originally meant a small pocket, especially a secret pocket. A watch carried in a small vest pocket (that's "waistcoat pocket" for Brits) was therefore called a fob watch and the chain attached to the fob watch was called a fob chain. Frequently the fob chain would have an ornament of some kind on the furthest end from the watch. Sometime in the late 19th century, the fob chain was assumed to be named after this ornament and the ornament became known as a fob (because it was on a fob chain). If that's not entirely clear we suggest reading it again... but take notes this time.

Most readers will have a set of keys which, most likely, reside on a key-ring. Most people's key-ring has some object dangling from it often purely decorative. It could be a simple leather tag with a car-dealer's name or a yellow plastic Tweety-pie or a miniature soccer ball. We've all seen them, most of us have them, but what do you call these things? Simple. They are called fobs, by analogy with those decorative things on the end of fob chains. These days, there are even fobs which open garage doors.

While f-o-b isn't an acronym it is an abbreviation. F. O. B. (pronounced eff-oh-bee) means "free on board" and F. O. B. S. (pronounced eff-oh-bee-ess) means "fractional orbital bombardment system" but we can't imagine that your wife had either of those in mind.

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Uhmm. doesnt seam to answer the question. Free On Board meand no charge to carry. Its not a pocket watch and I dont think its to Fob off.

 

Key fob

 

Check my edited message.

 

This is the key to the explanation of how the term evolved to include the remote transmitter:

Most readers will have a set of keys which, most likely, reside on a key-ring. Most people's key-ring has some object dangling from it often purely decorative. It could be a simple leather tag with a car-dealer's name or a yellow plastic Tweety-pie or a miniature soccer ball. We've all seen them, most of us have them, but what do you call these things? Simple. They are called fobs, by analogy with those decorative things on the end of fob chains. These days, there are even fobs which open garage doors.

 

well on this continent there are about 350 million people that know exactly what a fob is.

 

For honda which equipped with SE/SS the remote fob called "Card Key" Because its size is same as credit card
but other hand Nissan called "Inteligent Key"

 

Not as small as the Aussies are on the same scale.

 

Perfect! I have several pair of pants that have a small, in fact, just larger than the Prius fob, inside the right front pocket. Hmmm, what do I put there? You guessed it - my Prius fob! Keeps it separate from the keys so they don't scratch it all up. After all, I never need to take it out of my pocket to use the car.

FOB - the acronym, at least in the shipping context I know is not "Free On Board" but "Freight On Board". If something is priced FOB, it means the cost you pay if you show up at the seller's location and they put it on or in your vehicle. If you don't want to pick it up, you have to arrange shipping at your cost.

 

You know that fuzzy feline creature that hangs out with people? Why do you call it a cat? What does the C-A-T stand for? And don't even get me started on the D-O-G...



Seriously, I just think "fob" is the word used to describe the apparatus used to hold keys. I don't think it "means" or "stands for" anything...I could, of course, be very wrong...but when someone says "fob" I always picture something like the big "#1" keychains...

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ETYMOLOGY:
Probably akin to Low German Fobke, small pocket

(from Yahoo!'s dictionary)