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Origin and history of occult

occult(adj.)

1530s, "secret, not divulged," from French occulte and directly from Latin occultus "hidden, concealed, secret," past participle of occulere "cover over, conceal," from assimilated form of ob "over" (see ob-) + a verb related to celare "to hide" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"). Meaning "not apprehended by the mind, beyond the range of understanding" is from 1540s. The association with the supernatural sciences (magic, alchemy, astrology, etc.) dates from 1630s. A verb occult "to keep secret, conceal" (c.1500, from Latin occultare) is obsolete.

also from 1530s

Entries linking to occult

occultation(n.)

early 15c., occultacioun, "disguise or concealment of identity," from Latin occultationem (nominative occultatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of occultare "to hide, conceal," frequentative of occulere "to cover over, conceal" (see occult).

occultism(n.)

"the doctrine, principles, or practices of occult sciences," 1870, from occult + -ism. Related: Occultist.

Occultism, I should add, is to be distinguished from the primitive magic described by anthropologists, which is prescientific, prephilosophical, and perhaps prereligious, whereas occultism is a pseudo-science or system of pseudo-sciences, often supported by an irrationalist philosophy, and always exploiting the disintegrated débris of preexisting religions. [E.R. Dodds, "The Greeks and the Irrational," 1951, footnote]
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supernatural
early 15c. "of or given by God, divine; heavenly," from Medieval Latin supernaturalis "above or beyond nature; divine," from Latin super "above" (see super-) + natura "nature" (see nature (n.)). Originally of revelation, etc.; the notion is "being beyond or exceeding the powers o
mysterious
1610s, "full of mystery, obscure, not revealed or explained," from Latin mysterium (see mystery (n.1)) + -ous. Related: Mysteriously; mysteriousness. Earlier in same sense was mysterial (early 15c.), from Late Latin mysterialis. Mysterious is the most common word for that which
mystic
late 14c., mistike, "spiritually allegorical, pertaining to mysteries of faith," from Old French mistique "mysterious, full of mystery" (14c.), or directly from Latin mysticus "mystical, mystic, of secret rites" (source also of Italian mistico, Spanish mistico), from Greek mystik
hermetic
1630s "dealing with occult science or alchemy," from Latin hermeticus, from Greek Hermes, god of science and art (among other...
wizard
The meaning "one with magical power, one proficient in the occult sciences" did not emerge distinctly until c. 1550, the...
Rosicrucian
member of a supposed secret society possessing ancient occult wisdom, 1620s, from Modern Latin rosa crucis (DuCange) or crux...
tarot
Originally an everyday game deck in much of Europe (though not in Britain), their occult and fortune-telling use seems to...
secret
late 14c., "that which is hidden from human understanding;" early 15c., "that which is hidden from general knowledge;" from Latin secretum "secrecy; a mystery; a thing hidden; secret conversation," also "retirement, solitude," noun from secretus "set apart, withdrawn; hidden, con
resect
"cut off or away, pare off," 1650s, from Latin resectus, past participle of resecare "to cut off, cut loose, curtail," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + secare "to cut" (from PIE root *sek- "to cut"). The surgical sense of "excising of some part," of a bone,
change
c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

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