'arch-hypocrite' originates from Greek: the prefix 'arkh-' (from 'arkhos') and the word 'hypokritēs', where 'arkhos' meant 'chief' (or served as an intensifier) and 'hypokritēs' meant 'an actor' or 'one who plays a part'.

'hypokritēs' changed into Latin 'hypocrita' and Old French 'hypocrite', entering Middle English as 'hypocrite'. The prefix 'arch-' entered English via Greek/Latin use as an intensifier or 'chief' element; the compound 'arch-hypocrite' developed in Early Modern English to denote a principal or extreme hypocrite and later came to be used simply for an especially blatant hypocrite.

Initially, the elements referred literally to a 'chief actor' or 'principal pretender' (an actor on stage); over time the sense shifted from literal 'actor' to 'one who pretends morally or religiously,' and 'arch-' became an intensifier, yielding the modern meaning 'an especially egregious hypocrite' or 'extremely insincere person'.