occult

 
Pronunciation: /ɒˈkʌlt, ˈɒkʌlt/

noun

(the occult)
  • mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena: a secret society to study alchemy and the occult

adjective

  • 1involving or relating to mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena: an occult ceremony a weird occult sensation of having experienced the identical situation before
  • communicated only to the initiated; esoteric: the typically occult language of the time
  • 2 Medicine (of a disease or process) not accompanied by readily discernible signs or symptoms: careful palpation sometimes discloses occult spina bifida
  • (of blood) abnormally present, e.g. in faeces, but detectable only chemically or microscopically.

verb

Pronunciation: /ɒˈkʌlt/
[with object]
  • cut off from view by interposing something: a wooden screen designed to occult the competitors
  • Astronomy (of a celestial body) conceal (an apparently smaller body) from view by passing or being in front of it: the Moon occults Mars during daylight on March 22

Derivatives

occultation

noun

occultism

noun

occultist

noun

occultly

adverb

occultness

noun

Origin:

late 15th century (as a verb): from Latin occultare 'secrete', frequentative of occulere 'conceal', based on celare 'to hide'; the adjective and noun from occult- 'covered over', from the verb occulere

Spelling help

Spell occult with a double c.