Etymologically
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mock

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɒk/ (UK); /mɑk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mokken, borrowed from Middle French mocquer (“to deride, jeer”),[2][3][4] from Old French moquier, of unknown or uncertain origin.[3][2][5] It may come from Vulgar Latin *muccō (“to blow the nose”) (from Latin mūcus), a derisive gesture,[3][2] or from Middle Dutch mocken (“to mumble”) or Middle Low German mucken (“to grumble”), perhaps ultimately imitative.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To deceive: probably before 1430, in Lydgate, in Barnhart; to make fun of probably about 1450, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It replaced Old English bysmerian.[3] The noun, a derisive act, is from about 1440 (mokke, about 1425, in Barnhart),[6][2] and a thing to be derided from 1489.[6] To imitate or resemble closely is from the 1590s, as in mockingbird (1676),[3][2] from the idea of derisive imitation.[3] The adjective, feigned or counterfeit, is from 1548 (the 1540s),[2][3] as in mock-heroic (1711, Addison) and mock turtle (1758).[3] Mock-up is a 20th-century word.[4] Mockery is from probably before 1430.[2]

Timeline

  • probably before 1430 – mokken, to deceive.[2]
  • c. 1450 – to make fun of.[2]
  • 1548 – mock, sham (adjective).[2]
  • 1590s – to imitate.[3]
  • 1711 – mock-heroic.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To make fun of; to ridicule with contempt.
  2. To imitate, especially to make fun of; to mimic.
  3. To frustrate or defy: the weather mocked our plans.

Adjective

  1. Not real; sham, imitation: a mock trial.

Noun

  1. An act of mocking, or an object of mockery.

Word family

  • mocker
  • mockingly
  • mockable
  • bemock
  • mock-heroic
  • mockumentary
  • unmocked
  • mock epic
  • mockery
  • mockingbird
  • mock-up

Usage notes

In Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall a mock is the stump of a tree, or a log;[7][6] in Devon and Cornwall also the pomace of apples in the cider press.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)