Hippopotamus: hippo + potamus, “river” – river horse The prefix “hippo” is from the Greek word for “horse.” Hypocrisy is pretending to be one kind of person when in fact you’re another kind. Hypocrisy: the “crisy” part of this word derives from a Greek word that meant “to sift, to differentiate.” The sense of “sift” evolved from “to separate gradually” to “to answer” and then “to answer a fellow actor on the stage.” From there it came to mean “acting on the stage.” Everyone knows that acting is pretending. In Late Latin hypochondria meant “the abdomen,” hypo+chondros “cartilage of the breastbone.” In the 17th century hypochondria came to mean “depression or melancholy illness without cause.” This usage reflected an ancient belief that melancholy originated in the “hypchondria.” Then, in the 19th century, hypochondria acquired its present meaning of “any illness without a specific cause.” Things start getting complicated with the “under” connection when we get to hypochondria and hypocrisy. Hypotenuse: hypo + teinein (to stretch – the right angle “stretches under” Hypoglycemia: hypo + glykis (sweet) + haima (blood) – sugar in the blood under normal Hypothermic: hypo + therme (heat) – body temperature under normal. Hypodermic: hypo + derma (skin) – a needle that goes under the skin. The pronunciation of hypocrite is an exception. The prefix “hypo” is from Greek and means “under.” In most English words it’s pronounced with a long i as in hypodermic. When I found this misspelling on a chat site, I started wondering if there might be a connection between hypocrite and the “hippo” words n English.
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