Etymology

hoax

H4O1A1X8

Today it means: To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated. Full definition →

Latin iocus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromiocus“joke”
  2. English todayhoax

Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”). Compare hokey.

Words from the same roots

Latiniocus all →

jokejeweljeopardy

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.