Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hocus

/ˈhəʊkəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.57 in modern English

Syllables: ho-cus
IPA: /ˈhəʊkəs/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To play a trick on, to trick (someone); to hoax; to cheat.

verb

To stupefy (someone) with drugged liquor (especially in order to steal from them).

Obsolete

verb

To drug (liquor).

Obsolete

verb

To adulterate (food).

Obsolete

noun

A magician, illusionist, one who practises sleight of hand.

Obsolete

noun

One who cheats or deceives.

Obsolete

noun

Trick; trickery.

noun

Drugged liquor.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"1677, Poor Robin’s Visions, London: Arthur Boldero, Eighth Vision, p. 117, […] to contemplate the miseries of a poor Poetick life, or study some well laid plot to Hocus his Landlady into a further credence or belief […]"
"HOCUS. To cheat. Hence the more modern term hoax."
"“Well, I reckon you have lived in the country. I thought maybe you was trying to hocus me again […].”"
"“You really are married by a priest or parson, not just hocussing me?”"
"[…] but him they intended to disable by a trick then newly introduced amongst robbers, and termed hocussing, i. e., clandestinely drugging the liquor of the victim with laudanum […]"
"The last of the criminal cases are the thieves, who admit of being classified as follows: […] (2.) Those who hocus or plunder persons by stupefying […]"

Etymology

Pseudo-Latinism, derived from ellipsis of hocus-pocus. The verb is from the noun.

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

hocuses (present, singular) hocusses (present, singular) hocusing (participle, present) hocussing (participle, present) hocused (participle, past) hocused (past) hocussed (participle, past) hocussed (past) hocuses (plural)

Phrases

hocus-pocus

Frequently Paired Words

hocus-pocus

Rhymes With

focus locus refocus pocus crocus hocus-pocus

Questions

How do you pronounce hocus?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhəʊkəs/.
What does hocus mean?: To play a trick on, to trick (someone); to hoax; to cheat.
Where does hocus come from?: Pseudo-Latinism, derived from ellipsis of hocus-pocus. The verb is from the noun.

How to pronounce hocus

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