hypocrite

Etymology

Recorded from c. 1200 as ypocrite.^[1] From Middle English ypocrite,^[2][1] borrowed from Old French ypocrite,^[1][3] from Ecclesiastical Latin hypocrita,^[1][3] from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs, “stage actor; pretender, dissembler”),^[1][3] from hupokrínesthai “to play a part, pretend”.^[4][2]

The English word displaced Old English līċettere.^[5]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. [1] [2] [3] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. [1] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org