Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. Hobbits are a fictional people known for their small stature, quiet rural lives, love of food, and preference for comfort and peace.
Bilbo lives in Hobbiton in the Shire at the beginning of The Hobbit. Gandalf and the dwarves persuade him to join their journey to the Lonely Mountain, where he becomes involved in the recovery of the dwarves’ treasure. His discovery of the One Ring later connects his story to The Lord of the Rings.
Hobbits are not simply miniature humans in Tolkien’s setting. Tolkien describes them as a distinct people with their own customs, history, families, and settlements. Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took are also hobbits.
Elves, dwarves, and Ents are separate peoples or beings in Tolkien’s mythology. The word hobbit was coined by Tolkien, although the character type became a defining feature of modern fantasy.