English
hypocritical
Hypocritical comes from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτής ‘actor, hypocrite’, and goes back to ὑποκρίνομαι ‘I play a part on stage’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὑποκρίνομαιhupokrínomai‘I play a part on stage’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEὑποκριτήςhupokritḗs‘actor, hypocrite’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEὑποκριτικόςhupokritikós
- Englishearliest quotation 2018hypocritical
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὑποκρίνομαιhupokrínomai‘I play a part on stage’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEὑποκριτήςhupokritḗs‘actor, hypocrite’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEὑποκριτικόςhupokritikós
- Englishearliest quotation 2018hypocritical
Earliest quotation: 2018, Drachinifel: “The British Empire was in a somewhat-hypocritical position when…”
A compound of ὑπό ‘below’ + κρίνω ‘I choose’
Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘under, below’
Ancient Greek ὑπό ‘below’
Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate’
Proto-Indo-European *kri-n-yé-ti
Proto-Hellenic *kríňňō
Ancient Greek κρίνω ‘I choose’
Every English word from Ancient Greek ὑποκρίνομαι
Today it means
adj Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ὑποκρίνομαι / hypocritical