occidental

[ ok-si-den-tl ]

/ ˌɒk sɪˈdɛn tl /

adjective

(usually initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Occident or its natives and inhabitants.

western.

noun

(usually initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the Occident.

Nearby words

Origin of occidental

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin occidentālis western, equivalent to occident- occident + -ālis -al¹

Related forms

oc·ci·den·tal·i·ty, nounoc·ci·den·tal·ly, adverbnon·oc·ci·den·tal, adjectivenon·oc·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

pseu·do·oc·ci·den·tal, adjectiveun·oc·ci·den·tal, adjectiveun·oc·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for occidental

“My first act of political activism was when I was at Occidental College,” he said in Senegal, on his 2013 trip to Africa.
How Obama's Shallow Worldview Failed Us|Stuart Stevens|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The more violent aspect of the anti-apartheid movement was, safe to say, largely lost on Occidental College protestors.
How Obama's Shallow Worldview Failed Us|Stuart Stevens|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Barry ultimately left the Choom Gang for Occidental College and then, in his junior year, transferred to Columbia in New York.
David Maraniss’s Biography Spills on Obama’s Pot-Smoking & More|Matthew DeLuca, Caitlin Dickson|May 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In the summer of 1982, Obama was in a long-distance relationship with a former Occidental College classmate named Alex McNear.
David Maraniss’s ‘Barack Obama: The Story’ Excerpted in Vanity Fair: Juiciest Bits|Ben Jacobs|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He is now a diplomacy and world affairs professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Reboot America!|The Daily Beast|July 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But on these I will not dwell; they were an outwork; it was in the occidental scenery that Skelt was all himself.
Memories and Portraits|Robert Louis Stevenson
The Hindus are a suicidal race; the reverse of the occidental conception, suicide is a quick and glorious route to Heaven.
The Adventures of Kathlyn|Harold MacGrath
But of course, this may be only one of my occidental illusions.
Captain Macedoine's Daughter|William McFee
As for the Malay, thirst and hunger have also made their marks upon him; but not as with those of Occidental race.
The Castaways|Captain Mayne Reid
The latter word evokes to occidental ears images of sensual seduction which the Moroccan harem seldom realizes.
In Morocco|Edith Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for occidental

occidental

/ (ˌɒksɪˈdɛntəl) /

adjective

a literary or formal word for western Compare oriental

Occidental

/ (ˌɒksɪˈdɛntəl) sometimes not capital /

adjective

of or relating to the Occident

noun

an inhabitant, esp a native, of the Occident

Derived FormsOccidentalism, nounOccidentalist, noun, adjectiveOccidentally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for occidental

occidental

adj.

c.1400, from Old French occidental (14c.) and directly from Latin occidentalis "western," from occidentem (see occident). As a capitalized noun meaning "a Western person" (opposed to Oriental) from 1857.