I. əˈkəlt, ˈäˌkəlt verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin occultare, from occultus, past participle of occulere to cover up
transitive verb
1. : to hide from sight : conceal
the lids lowered again, occulting the old eyes' softened gleam — MacLean's Magazine
if his occulted guilt do not itself unkennel in one speech — Shakespeare
2. : to conceal or extinguish the light of by intervention : eclipse
planets, like stars, may be occulted; but as a planet shows a disk, and does not appear as a mere point, the disappearance is gradual — Patrick Moore
intransitive verb
: to become concealed or to have its light extinguished
the beam of the lighthouse occults at regular intervals
II. adjective
Etymology: Latin occultus, past participle of occulere to cover up, from ob- + -culere (akin to Latin celare to conceal) — more at hell
1. : deliberately kept hidden : not revealed to others : secret , undisclosed
too occult to be shown to uninitiate eyes — Elinor Wylie
deep subterranean occult jealousy — J.C.Powys
2. : not to be apprehended or understood : demanding more than ordinary perception or knowledge : abstruse , mysterious , recondite
as far as the general public was concerned, the museum was an esoteric, occult place — Aline B. Saarinen
occult matters like nuclear physics, radiation effects and the designing of rockets — Robert Bendiner
the occult properties of the ductless glands — W.R.Inge
3.
a. : hidden from view : not able to be seen : concealed
the silica may appear in crystalline form … or it may remain occult in the groundmass — G.W.Tyrrell
b. archaic : of or relating to lines drawn in dots or meant to be erased
4. : of, relating to, or dealing in matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural agencies or some secret knowledge of them
deals in the occult arts
an occult fortune-teller
5. : not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone
occult carcinoma
occult infection
especially : not present in macroscopic amounts
occult blood in the feces
— compare gross
• oc·cult·ly adverb
III. noun
( -s )
: something mysterious or supernatural — usually used with the
he is a student of the occult