Where does “occult” come from?
Occult comes from Latin occultus, past participle of occulo meaning to conceal, from ob- combined with a root from Proto-Indo-European ḱēl- meaning to hide or cover.
occult (English): To cover or hide from view; To dissimulate,...
Definitions
- To cover or hide from view; To dissimulate,...
Ancestry of “occult”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | occulte | occult; first-person singular present indicative... |
| 2 | Latin | occultus | hidden, concealed, having been hidden; secret |
| 3 | Latin | occulo | I cover, hide, conceal |
| 4 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 5 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |