occidental

1 of 2

adjective

oc·​ci·​den·​tal ˌäk-sə-ˈden-tᵊl How to pronounce occidental (audio)
often capitalized
1
: of, relating to, or situated in the Occident : western
2
: of or relating to Occidentals
occidentally adverb

Occidental

2 of 2

noun

: a member of one of the occidental peoples
especially : a person of European ancestry

Examples of occidental in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Is there a more terrifying, fascinating, weirdly appealing time in the occidental imagination than the Middle Ages? Sara Holdren, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2023 Whenever Chinese interests were represented in some important conference or a Chinese was in difficulty in some misunderstanding of occidental customs, Tom played a helpful role. San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2022 Its bad guys are clearly the sadistic British imperialists, easily read as occidental occupiers who must be overthrown as well as stand-ins for a host of other IRL colonial powers on other continents, in other centuries. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2022 So what happened to those occidental Celts in those four hundred years? Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 7 Mar. 2019
Noun
Accounting for another 45% of the portfolio are the next 10 largest holdings—which include iconic companies like Bank Of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, Chevron CVX +0.5%, Occidental Petroleum, and Kraft Heinz. John Dobosz, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 The University of California and California State University systems do not give preferential treatment to children of alumni and donors, and some private institutions, such as Occidental and Pomona Colleges, have dropped the practice in recent years. Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The company also grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by almost 9% to about $14.5 million. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024 Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum also gained in premarket trading. Caitlin McCabe, WSJ, 12 Jan. 2024 During the same period, Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Chevron by 18% to more than $18 billion, according to Forbes, and also grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by almost 9% to about $14.5 million. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024 This series of six canyons cuts through the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range and is popular for hiking and viewing wildlife. Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 11 Feb. 2024 The second storm, which moved across Northern California on Wednesday, killed a 2-year-old boy when a tree landed on his family’s trailer near Occidental while a 19-year-old was killed after driving into standing water, hydroplaning and striking into a tree in Fairfield. Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024 Before long, Schoenberg was working with fellow teachers at Occidental College’s computer science department to develop a machine-learning algorithm that could eventually compose its own original content. Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'occidental.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin occidentālis, from occident-, occidens occident + -ālis -al entry 1

Noun

borrowed from Medieval Latin occidentālis, noun derivative of Latin occidentālis, adjective, occidental

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1538, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of occidental was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near occidental

Occident

occidental

Occidental

Cite this Entry

“Occidental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occidental. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

occidental

1 of 2 adjective
oc·​ci·​den·​tal ˌäk-sə-ˈdent-ᵊl How to pronounce occidental (audio)
often capitalized
1
: of, relating to, or located in the Occident : western
2
: of or relating to Occidentals

Occidental

2 of 2 noun
: a person of European ancestry

More from Merriam-Webster on occidental

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!