From Greek 'hypokrites' (stage actor) — Christians repurposed the theater term for someone who merely performs virtue without living it.
A person who pretends to have moral standards or beliefs to which their own behavior does not conform.
From Greek 'hypokrites' (stage actor), from 'hypokrinesthai' (to play a part, to answer on stage), from 'hypo-' (under) + 'krinein' (to judge, decide). An actor 'answered' (responded to) the chorus. The meaning shifted from 'actor' to 'pretender' through early Christian usage. Key roots
A 'hypocrite' is just an actor. Greek 'hypokrites' was the neutral term for a stage performer — someone who 'answered' the chorus in dramatic performances. Early Christians borrowed it to describe people who performed virtue without actually being virtuous: acting righteous was just another theatrical performance. So every time you