Etymologically
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occulo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɔk.kʊ.ɫoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɔk.ku.lo][1]

Forms

occulō (present infinitive occulere, perfect active occuluī, supine occultum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ob- + *celō, from Proto-Italic *kele/o- (“to hide”), Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to hide”), the root also in cēlō “to conceal”.[2][3][1] The spelling oquoltod in the decree on the Bacchanalia is hypercorrect.[2] Cognate with Old Irish ceilid (“hides”), Old English helan (“to hide”) and Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (huljan, “to cover”).[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who speaks of women hiding bodily flaws with make-up.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to hide from view or conceal, as troops in ambush, and to keep secret or cover up.[3] Its frequentative occultō “to keep hidden” and its participle occultus “hidden, secret” were more common.[3][1]

Occultus gave English occult in the 1530s, first in the sense “secret”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of hiding blemishes with make-up.[3][5]
  • 186 BC – the decree on the Bacchanalia spells its participle oquoltod.[2]
  • 1530s – English occult is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To hide, conceal; to place in ambush.[3]
  2. To keep secret.[3]

Word family

  • occultō

Usage notes

Döderlein contrasts cēlāre, hiding in an abstract sense, keeping silent about something, with occulere and occultāre, hiding something material from view, the opposite of aperīre.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper