Occults

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Activities involving hidden or secret knowledge are typically linked to mystical beliefs and practices
2. Various mystical traditions engage in rituals and doctrines centered around concealed spiritual concepts
3. Practices related to secret knowledge often deal with mystical beliefs and spiritual rituals that focus on the hidden aspects of existence

Etymology: Occult is a Latin past participle that most English speakers meet only as an adjective, and the root meaning is literal: "hidden," "concealed," or "secret." It comes from the Latin verb "occulere," "to cover over" or "conceal," built from "ob," meaning "over" or "against," and "celare," "to hide." That verb also gave Latin "occultus," which English borrowed directly as "occult," keeping the sense of something hidden from view before it came to mean hidden knowledge. "Occults" is the third-person singular present form of the verb "occult," meaning to conceal or cover something from view. The verb is the one that matches the adjective's original sense of hiding, so its meaning is closer to the Latin root than the noun usage of "the occult" for magical and esoteric practices.

Synonyms: esoterics, mysticism

Antonyms: exoterics, reality