occultness

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oc·cult

 (ə-kŭlt′, ŏk′ŭlt′)
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural or magical influences, agencies, or occurrences: occult astrological powers.
2. Available only to the initiate; secret or mysterious: occult lore. See Synonyms at mysterious.
3. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable: The causes of those phenomena remain occult.
4. Hidden from view; concealed: "Hatchlings and juveniles ... keep to this occult place through all the seasons" (David M. Carroll).
5.
a. Medicine Detectable only by microscopic examination or chemical analysis, as a minute blood sample.
b. Not accompanied by readily detectable signs or symptoms: occult carcinoma.
n.
Occult practices or techniques: a student of the occult.
v. (ə-kŭlt′) oc·cult·ed, oc·cult·ing, oc·cults
v.tr.
1. To conceal or cause to disappear from view.
2. Astronomy To conceal by occultation: The moon occulted Mars.
v.intr.
To become concealed or extinguished at regular intervals: a lighthouse beacon that occults every 45 seconds.
[Latin occultus, secret, past participle of occulere, to cover over; see kel- in Indo-European roots.]
oc·cult′ly adv.
oc·cult′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive
Of course, a theory of this sort would be more mechanistic than Aristotelian: gone would be the four elements, real irreducible qualities, and the occultness of substantial form.
Form, substance, and mechanism
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