occult

English

WOTD – 14 January 2010

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin occultus (“hidden, secret”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɒk.ʌlt/, /əˈkʌlt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈkʌlt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌlt

Verb

occult (third-person singular simple present occults, present participle occulting, simple past and past participle occulted)

1. (transitive, astronomy) To cover or hide from view.

   The Earth occults the Moon during a lunar eclipse.

2. (transitive, rare) To dissimulate, conceal, or obfuscate.
   • 2013 June 28, Abi Doukhan, Spectrum Magazine‎^[1]:

     […] to do so would occult rather than illuminate the utterly unexpected and surprising character of his coming and of his reign.

Derived terms

• nonocculting

Translations

to cover

• Catalan: ocultar (ca), amagar (ca)
• Dutch: verduisteren (nl), bedekken (nl)
• Finnish: pimentää (fi)
• French: occulter (fr)
• Galician: ocultar (gl)
• Ido: okultacar (io)
• Italian: occultare (it)
• Japanese: 掩蔽する (ja) (えんぺいする, enpei suru)
• Macedonian: скрива (skriva), прикрива (prikriva)
• Norwegian: okkultere
• Portuguese: ocultar (pt)
• Russian: скрыва́ть (ru) (skryvátʹ), заслоня́ть (ru) (zaslonjátʹ)
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: اورتمك (örtmek)

Adjective

occult (comparative more occult, superlative most occult)

2. (medicine) Secret; hidden from general knowledge; undetected.

   occult blood loss; occult cancer

   • 1860, Isaac Taylor, “Mind in Form”, in Ultimate Civilization‎^[2], page 178:

     This counter-influence is so much more conclusive […] because it is of an occult kind, and is so insensible in its advances as to escape observation.

   • 2004, Edward C. Feldman, Richard William Nelson, “Hypercalcemia and primary hyperparathyroidism”, in Canine and Feline Endocrinology and Reproduction‎^[3], Elsevier, →ISBN, page 695:

     One of our dogs with PHPTH [primary hyperparathyroidism] had lucent lesions in the long bones, but this is extremely uncommon. Concurrent hyperproteinemia is supportive of myeloma. Solid tumors with metastasis to bone are more likely if lytic bone lesions and normoproteinemia (especially a normal serum globulin concentration) are present. A core biopsy of a lytic lesion may be necessary to establish a definitive diagnosis of neoplasia, especially in a dog with occult neoplasia.

3. (medicine): not visible, but chemically detectable.

   occult blood in the urine

4. Related to the occult; pertaining to mysticism, magic, or astrology.

   Coordinate terms: eldritch, woo woo

   • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 190:

     The concoctions contrived by Italians were particularly in clamant demand, while the occult sciences of astrology and alchemy lent their support[.]

   • 2017, Pao Chang, Word Magic: The Powers & Occult Definitions of Words, →OCLC:

     Be aware that occult knowledge can be used for good or evil purposes.

5. Esoteric.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."

Derived terms

• fecal occult blood
• hemoccult
• occultic
• occultism
• occultist
• occult line
• occultly
• occultness
• occultural
• occulture

Translations

secret; hidden from general knowledge; undetected

• Armenian: ծածուկ (hy) (cacuk), գաղտնի (hy) (gaġtni), թաքուն (hy) (tʻakʻun), խորհրդավոր (hy) (xorhrdavor)
• Bulgarian: таен (bg) (taen), поверителен (bg) (poveritelen)
• Catalan: ocult (ca), amagat (ca)
• Czech: okultní (cs), skrytý (cs)
• Dutch: verborgen (nl), latent (nl)
• Finnish: piilevä (fi), salainen (fi)
• German: okkult (de)
• Italian: latente (it), celato (it), recondito (it), nascosto (it)
• Norwegian: okkult, skjult
• Persian: (literally) نهان (fa) (nahân), (formally) پنهان (fa) (penhân), (usual) مخفی (fa) (maxfi)
• Portuguese: oculto (pt), ocultado (pt)
• Russian: скры́тый (ru) (skrýtyj), та́йный (ru) (tájnyj)
• Turkish: gizli (tr)

related to the occult

• Bulgarian: тайнствен (bg) (tajnstven), окултен (bg) (okulten)
• Catalan: ocult (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 神秘的 (shénmì de)

• Czech: okultní (cs)
• Danish: okkult
• Dutch: occult (nl)
• Finnish: yliluonnollinen (fi), salattu (fi)
• French: occulte (fr)
• German: okkult (de)
• Hungarian: okkult (hu)
• Ido: okulta (io)
• Italian: occulto (it) m
• Kazakh: оккульттық (okkulttyq)
• Norwegian: okkult
• Persian: رازآمیز (râz-âmiz)
• Portuguese: oculto (pt)
• Russian: окку́льтный (ru) (okkúlʹtnyj)
• Ukrainian: оку́льтний (okúlʹtnyj)
• Welsh: cyfriniol (cy)

esoteric

• Bulgarian: окултен (bg) (okulten)
• Catalan: ocult (ca)
• Czech: esoterický (cs)
• Danish: esoterisk, okkult
• Finnish: esoteerinen (fi)
• Italian: esoterico (it)

Noun

occult (uncountable)

1. (usually with "the") Supernatural affairs.
   • 2016, Lemon Demon, “Lifetime Achievement Award”, in Spirit Phone:

     Due to my strong personal convictions / I wish to stress / That this record / In no way endorses / A belief in the occult

Translations

supernatural affairs

• Afrikaans: okkultisme
• Albanian: okultizmi
• Arabic: تَنْجِيمِيَّة f (tanjīmiyya)
• Bulgarian: окулти́зъм m (okultízǎm)
• Catalan: ocultisme, ocult (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 神秘學 / 神秘学 (shénmìxué)

• Danish: okkultisme
• Dutch: occulte (nl) n, occultisme (nl) n
• Esperanto: okultismo
• Estonian: okultism
• Finnish: yliluonnollinen (fi)
• French: occulte (fr) m or f, occultisme (fr) m
• Galician: ocultismo
• German: Okkult m, Okkultismus (de) m
• Hebrew: אוקולטיזם (he)
• Hindi: तंत्र-मंत्र m (tantra-mantra)
• Hungarian: okkult (hu)
• Indonesian: okultisme (id)
• Italian: occulto (it) m, occultismo (it)
• Japanese: オカルト (ja) (okaruto), 超自然現象 (ちょうしぜんげんしょう, chōshizen genshō)
• Kazakh: оккультизм (okkultizm)
• Korean: 오컬트 (okeolteu)
• Lithuanian: okultizmas
• Macedonian: окулти́зам m (okultízam)
• Persian: علوم خفیه (olum-e xafiye), علوم غریبه (olum-e ġaribe)
• Polish: okultyzm (pl) m
• Portuguese: oculto (pt), ocultismo (pt)
• Russian: оккульти́зм (ru) m (okkulʹtízm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: окултизам m

  Latin: okultizam (sh) m

• Sinhalese: ගුප්තශාස්ත්‍ර (guptaśāstra)
• Slovak: okultizmus (sk) m
• Spanish: oculto (es) m, ocultismo
• Swedish: ockult (sv), ockultism (sv)
• Thai: สิ่งลึกลับ (sìng léuk láp)
• Turkish: okültizm (tr)
• Welsh: yr ocwlt

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Persian: ^{(please verify)} مستترکردن

Related terms

• occultation
• occultive

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱel- (2 c, 3 e)

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French occulte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔˈkʏlt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʏlt

Adjective

occult (comparative occulter, superlative occultst)

1. occult

Declension

Declension of occult
uninflected	occult
inflected	occulte
comparative	occulter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		occult	occulter	het occultst het occultste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	occulte	occultere	occultste
	n. sing.	occult	occulter	occultste
	plural	occulte	occultere	occultste
definite		occulte	occultere	occultste
partitive		occults	occulters	—

Related terms

• occultisme