disease evidenced by lowness of spirits, sluggishness, indolence, loss of interest in amusements, a wish to be alone, etc., 1765, from hypochondria in its older sense of "melancholy without cause," treated here as a disorder of the body and given the medical ending -osis to denote "a state of disease." The definitions of hypochondria then expanded to include this sense and that has become the usual word for it.

To call the Hypochondriaſis a fanciful malady, is ignorant and cruel. It is a real, and a ſad diſeaſe : an obſtruction of the ſpleen by thickened and diſtempered blood ; extending itſelf often to the liver, and other parts ; and unhappily is in England very frequent : phyſick ſcarce knows one more fertile in ill ; or more difficult of cure. [J. Hill, M.D., "Hypochondriasis," London, 1766]

"forming a diminutive of endearment," 1650s, hypocoristick, from Greek hypo- "under, beneath, less than." Related: Hypocoristical (c. 1600).

c. 1200, ipocrisie, "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness," from Old French ypocrisie, from Late Latin hypocrisis "hypocrisy," also "an imitation of a person's speech and gestures," from Attic Greek hypokrisis "acting on the stage; pretense," metaphorically, "hypocrisy," from hypokrinesthai "play a part, pretend," also "answer," from hypo- "under" (see hypo-) + middle voice of krinein "to sift, decide" (from PIE root *krei- "to sieve," thus "discriminate, distinguish"). The sense evolution in Attic Greek is from "separate gradually" to "answer" to "answer a fellow actor on stage" to "play a part." The h- was restored in English 16c.

Hypocrisy is the art of affecting qualities for the purpose of pretending to an undeserved virtue. Because individuals and institutions and societies most often live down to the suspicions about them, hypocrisy and its accompanying equivocations underpin the conduct of life. Imagine how frightful truth unvarnished would be. [Benjamin F. Martin, "France in 1938," 2005]

c. 1200, ypocrite, "false pretender to virtue or religion," from Old French ypocrite (12c., Modern French hypocrite), from Church Latin hypocrita "a hypocrite," from Greek hypokritēs "stage actor; pretender, dissembler," from hypokrinesthai (see hypocrisy).

"hypocritical," 1530s, from Greek hypokritikos "acting a part, pretending" (see hypocrisy). Hypocritical is the more common form.

"of, pertaining to, or proceeding from hypocrisy," 1540s (implied in hypocritically), from hypocritic, which was used in the same sense, + -al (1). It won out over hypocritish (1520s), hypocritic (1530s). Middle English used simple hypocrite as the adjective (c. 1400) as well as the noun.

"pertaining to or relating to parts under the skin, subcutaneous; burrowing in or under the skin, introduced under the skin" 1830, from hypo- "under" + derma "skin" + -ic. Hypoderma is attested from 1826 as "tissue just beneath the skin."

"living below the ground," 1803, from Greek hypogeios "underground," from hypo "under" (see hypo-) + gē "earth" (see Gaia). Opposed to epigean.