Editing Hobbit (section)

=== Characteristics ===

Tolkien describes hobbits as between two and four feet (0.6–1.2 m) tall, with the average height being {{convert|3|ft|6|in|m|spell=in|sigfig=2}}. They dress in bright colours, favouring yellow and green. They are usually shy, but are nevertheless capable of great courage and amazing feats under the proper circumstances. They are adept at throwing stones. For the most part, they cannot grow beards, but a few Stoor hobbits can. Their feet are covered with curly hair (usually brown, as is the hair on their heads) and have leathery soles, so Hobbits hardly ever wear shoes.<ref name="Prologue" group="T">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc="Prologue"}}</ref> Hobbits are not quite as stocky as the similarly sized [[Dwarves (Middle-earth)|dwarves]], but still tend to be stout, with slightly pointed ears. Tolkien clarified their appearance in a 1938 letter to his American publisher:<ref name="Letter 27" group="T"/>

{{blockquote|I picture a fairly human figure, not a kind of 'fairy' rabbit as some of my British reviewers seem to fancy: fattish in the stomach, shortish in the leg. A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'; hair short and curling (brown). The feet from the ankles down, covered with brown hairy fur. Clothing: green velvet breeches; red or yellow waistcoat; brown or green jacket; gold (or brass) buttons; [and specifically for Bilbo, in ''The Hobbit''] a dark green hood and cloak (belonging to a dwarf).<ref name="Letter 27" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=letter 27 to [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin Company]], probably March or April 1938, specifically about Bilbo Baggins }}</ref>}}

Tolkien presented hobbits as relatives of the human race,<ref name="Prologue" group="T"/> or a "variety"<ref name="variety" group="T">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1975|loc=''Firstborn''}}</ref><ref name="Gilliver 2012">{{cite web |last=Gilliver |first=Peter |date=14 August 2012 |title=J.R.R. Tolkien and the OED |url=https://public.oed.com/blog/jrr-tolkien-and-the-oed/ |access-date=23 February 2021 |website=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]}} Note: Gives the OED's definition of "Hobbit", and states it was written by Tolkien, and included almost unchanged.</ref> or separate "branch"<ref name="branch" group="T">{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=Letter 131 to [[Milton Waldman]], late 1951 }}</ref> of humanity.<ref name="Gilliver 2012"/> In Tolkien's fictional world, hobbits and other races are aware of the similarities between humans and hobbits (hence the colloquial terms for each other of "[[Men (Middle-earth)|Big People]]" and "Little People"); nevertheless, hobbits consider themselves a separate people.<ref group="T">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=Book II, Chapter 1 "Many Meetings". "If you can't distinguish between a Man and a Hobbit, your judgement is poorer than I imagined. They're as different as peas and apples."}}</ref>

The race's average life expectancy is 100 years, but some of Tolkien's main Hobbit characters live much longer: [[Bilbo Baggins]] and the Old Took are described as living to the age of 130 or beyond, though Bilbo's long lifespan owes much to his possession of the [[One Ring]]. Hobbits are considered to "come of age" on their 33rd birthday, so a 50-year-old hobbit would be regarded as entering middle-age.<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group="T">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc="Prologue", 1. "Concerning Hobbits"}}</ref>