occult. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

occult

SYLLABICATION:	oc·cult
PRONUNCIATION:	-klt, klt
ADJECTIVE:	1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena. 2. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable. 3. Available only to the initiate; secret: occult lore. See synonyms at mysterious. 4. Hidden from view; concealed. 5a. Medicine Detectable only by microscopic examination or chemical analysis, as a minute blood sample. b. Not accompanied by readily detectable signs or symptoms: occult carcinoma.
NOUN:	Occult practices or techniques: a student of the occult.
VERB:	Inflected forms: oc·cult·ed, oc·cult·ing, oc·cults (-klt)
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To conceal or cause to disappear from view. 2. Astronomy To conceal by occultation: The moon occulted Mars.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To become concealed or extinguished at regular intervals: a lighthouse beacon that occults every 45 seconds.
ETYMOLOGY:	Latin occultus, secret, past participle of occulere, to cover over. See kel-¹ in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	oc·cultly —ADVERB oc·cultness —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.