Brewer's: Hub

The nave of a wheel; a boss; also a skid. (Welsh, hob, a swelling, a protuberance; compare also a hwb.) The Americans call Boston, Massachusetts, “The hub [boss] of the solar system.”

“Boston State-house is the hub of the solar system.” —Holmes: Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, chap. vi. p. 143.

“Calcutta swaggers as if it were the hub of the universe.” —Daily News, 1886.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language