Mokkery

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Scornful teasing or derisive behaviour intended to belittle someone or something
2. Contemptuous ridicule, often expressed through mocking imitation or jeering remarks
3. An act or expression of derision that makes a person or thing appear foolish

Etymology: "Mokkery" is an old spelling of "mockery," the mocking of someone or something, or a derisive act or display. It belongs to the same family as the Old French "moquerie," which came from "mocquer," meaning to mock, deride, or jeer. That verb's own origin is uncertain. Etymologists have proposed links to Middle Dutch "mocken" and to imitative sounds, but no link is securely established. The "-ery" ending is the French suffix that English borrowed in words like "bravery" and "slavery," marking a condition, practice, or class of behavior. The spelling "mokkery" with a double "k" reflects the older English habit of writing the "k" sound this way after a short vowel. The form is rare today and mostly survives in dictionaries and older literary texts, where it reads as a more archaic variant of the familiar word.