Powiedzieć „hipokryta” po grecku, hebrajsku i arabsku
Powiedzieć „hipokryta” po grecku, hebrajsku i arabsku

Summary/Abstract: In the paper the etymology of the term “hypocrite” in Greek, Hebrew and Arabic is outlined. It has a special place among many European cognates derived from Greek which adopted a meaning slightly or very different to the one confirmed in classical Greek literature. Similarities are determined between the word “hypocrite” and equivalent terms recurring in Biblical and Post-Biblical Hebrew, as well as in the languages of the Islamic ecumene. “Hypocrite” is a term fundamentally connected with a monotheistic perception of the world. The issue regarding the identification of the Hebrew term ḥānēf is broached. This word underwent a semantic evolution, just as deep as hupokritḗs. As opposed to the Europeanism “hypocrite”, which became secularised, munāfiq – an Arabic equivalent – has never separated from its religious meaning.

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