Occult Means Hidden, and Astronomers Still Use It Plainly
Occult means supernatural or hidden. Astronomy uses it literally, for one body passing in front of another.
Occult means relating to the supernatural, and more basically, hidden. Astronomy retains the plain sense: when the moon passes in front of a star, it *occults* it, and the event is an *occultation*. Medicine does the same — *occult blood* means blood present but not visible. The mystical sense is only one branch of a word that simply means concealed.
- Supernatural. *Occult practices.*
- Hidden. *Occult blood.*
- To pass in front of. *The moon occulted Venus.*
- Occultation — an astronomical passing. *A lunar occultation.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | occult | Occult knowledge. |
| Verb | occult | Occulted the star. |
| Noun | occultation | A rare occultation. |
| Noun | occultism | Victorian occultism. |
| Related | conceal | Conceal the truth. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The moon occulted Saturn.Astronomy.
- A faecal occult blood test.Detecting blood not visible to the eye.
- Occult simply means hidden.Latin *occultus*.
Astronomical events
- Occultation — one body passes in front of another, hiding it
- Eclipse — a body passes into another's shadow
- Transit — a small body crosses a larger one's disc
- Conjunction — two bodies appear close together
- Syzygy — three bodies in a straight line
From Latin *occultus*, hidden, the past participle of *occulere*, to cover over, from *ob* and a root meaning to conceal.
Occultation or eclipse?
An occultation hides one body behind another. An eclipse puts a body into shadow. A solar eclipse is technically an occultation of the sun.
What is occult blood?
Blood present in a sample but not visible to the eye, detected chemically. It is a standard screening test for bowel cancer.