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Origin and history of occident

occident(n.)

late 14c., "western part" (of the heavens or the earth), from Old French occident (12c.) or directly from Latin occidentem (nominative occidens) "western sky, sunset, part of the sky in which the sun sets," noun use of adjective meaning "setting," from present participle of occidere "fall down, go down" (see occasion (n.)). As a geopolitical term, sometimes with a capital O, always somewhat imprecise.

With the definite article, the west; western countries; specifically, those countries lying to the west of Asia and of that part of eastern Europe now or formerly constituting in general European Turkey; Christendom. Various countries, as Russia, may be classed either in the Occident or in the Orient. [Century Dictionary, 1895]

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to occident

occasion(n.)

late 14c., occasioun, "opportunity; grounds for action or feeling; state of affairs that makes something else possible; a happening, occurrence leading to some result," from Old French ochaison, ocasion "cause, reason, excuse, pretext; opportunity" (13c.) or directly from Latin occasionem (nominative occasio) "opportunity, appropriate time," in Late Latin "cause," from occasum, occasus, past participle of occidere "fall down, go down," from ob "down, away" (see ob-) + -cidere, combining form of cadere "to fall" (from PIE root *kad- "to fall"). The notion is of a "falling together," or juncture, of circumstances. The sense of "the time or a time at which something happens" is from 1560s.

Europe

from Latin Europa "Europe," from Greek Europē, which is of uncertain origin; as a geographic name first recorded in the Homeric hymn to Apollo (522 B.C.E. or earlier):

"Telphusa, here I am minded to make a glorious temple, an oracle for men, and hither they will always bring perfect hecatombs, both those who live in rich Peloponnesus and those of Europe and all the wave-washed isles, coming to seek oracles."

Often explained as "broad face," from eurys "wide" (see eury-) + ops "face," literally "eye" (from PIE root *okw- "to see"). But also traditionally linked with Europa, Phoenician princess in Greek mythology. Klein (citing Heinrich Lewy) suggests a possible Semitic origin in Akkad. erebu "to go down, set" (in reference to the sun) which would parallel occident. Another suggestion along those lines is Phoenician 'ereb "evening," hence "west."

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occidental
c. 1400, "to, of, or in the west (of the sky or the earth)," from Old French occidental (14c.) and directly from Latin occidentalis "western," from occidentem (see occident). Meaning "of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the western regions of the earth (especially Western Eur
west
Old English west (adv.) "in or toward the west, in a westerly direction," from Proto-Germanic *west- (source also of Old Norse vestr, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch west, Old High German -west, only in compounds, German west), which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps from PIE *wes
stew
late 14c., steuen, transitive "to bathe (a person or a body part) in a steam bath" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French estuver "have a hot bath, plunge into a bath; stew" (Modern French étuver), a word of uncertain origin. It is common Romanic (cognates: Spanish estufar, Ital
confusion
c. 1300, confusioun, "overthrow, ruin," from Old French confusion "disorder, confusion, shame" (11c.) and directly from Latin confusionem (nominative confusio) "a mingling, mixing, blending; confusion, disorder," noun of action from past-participle stem of confundere "to pour tog
conspicuous
1540s, "open to view, catching the eye," from Latin conspicuus "visible, open to view; attracting attention, striking," from conspicere "to look at, observe, see, notice," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + specere "to look at" (from PIE
enthusiasm
c. 1600, from French enthousiasme (16c.) and directly from Late Latin enthusiasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos "divine inspiration, enthusiasm (produced by certain kinds of music, etc.)," from enthousiazein "be inspired or possessed by a god, be rapt, be in ecstasy," from entheos "
coherence
1580s, "suitable connection or dependence, consistency" (in narrative or argument), also more literally "act or state of sticking or cleaving of one thing to another," from French cohérence (16c.), from Latin cohaerentia, abstract noun from cohaerentem (nominative cohaerens), pre
quorum
early 15c., in law, "the senior justices of the peace," whose presence was necessary to constitute a court, from Latin quorum "of whom," genitive plural (masc. and neuter; fem. quarum) of qui "who" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns). The traditiona
arithmetic
"art of computation, the most elementary branch of mathematics," mid-13c., arsmetike, from Old French arsmetique (12c.), from Latin arithmetica, from Greek arithmetikē (tekhnē) "(the) counting (art)," fem. of arithmetikos "of or for reckoning, arithmetical," from arithmos "number
poontang
"female genitalia," also "sex with a woman; woman regarded as a sex object," c. 1910, a word of uncertain origin.  Shortened form poon is recorded by 1969. Probably via New Orleans Creole, from French putain "prostitute," from Old French pute "whore" (cognate with Spanish an

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