*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of hokey

From the verb hoke ("to give an artificial feel to" [from hokum]) + -y.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

Phony, as if a hoax; noticeably contrived; of obviously flimsy credibility or quality. · Corny; overly or unbelievably sentimental.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the verb hoke ("to give an artificial feel to" [from hokum]) + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "gl",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"to give an artificial feel to\" [from <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"en\">hokum</i>]"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"to give an artificial feel to\" [from hokum])"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "",
        "3": "-y<id:adjectival>"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -y"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hoke",
      "hoke#English"
    ],
    [
      "hokum",
      "hokum#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_adjectival"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Phony, as if a hoax; noticeably contrived; of obviously flimsy credibility or quality.",
        "Corny; overly or unbelievably sentimental."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "56ac7d64a5fdffa81d15f021e28a59302c6472bfe4b066166a6118b411524124",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2dbc08df6043aed14d793692958d149e01c544fb4850d81f9cb7dda1c2a3a8f1",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 547574
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for hokey →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aG9rZXk