Hoking

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Delivering an overly theatrical or inauthentic performance that lacks genuine emotion or conviction
2. Acting in an artificially exaggerated manner with excessive gestures or false sincerity
3. Performing with deliberate overstatement or phoniness rather than authentic expression

Etymology: "Hoking" is the present participle of "hoke", so its history is really the history of that verb. The verb "hoke" traces back to Old English "hōc", a word meaning a hook or hooked implement, and it came into Middle English as "hoke". Its meaning tends to run in a particular direction: the verb is linked to the idea of hooking or digging out, and a related Scots form, "howk", still means to dig or scoop out. A separate strand of the word's family is "hokum", the stage-slang term for sentimental or nonsensical material, which is sometimes cited as a source for "hoke". The verb's roots also connect to "holk", a word for a hollow cavity, which fits with the sense of scooping or hollowing something out. Each of these links points toward the same basic image of a hooked or scooping action rather than one fixed meaning, so the modern sense of "hoking" is best understood as a continuation of that physical gesture.