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Accidental vs Occidental - What's the difference?

accidental | occidental |

As adjectives the difference between accidental and occidental

is that accidental is not essential; incidental, secondary while occidental is of, pertaining to, or situated in, the occident, or west; western.

As nouns the difference between accidental and occidental

is that accidental is a property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally while occidental is a Western Christian of the Latin rite.

As a proper noun Occidental is

an artificial language, once renamed Interlingue in an attempt to compete with Interlingua.

accidental

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Not essential; incidental, secondary.
  • (music) Adjusted by one or two semitones, in temporary departure from the key signature.
  • Occurring sometimes, by chance; occasional.
  • Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; by accident, unintentional.
  • *1603 , (John Florio), translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays , III.1:
  • *:The way to trueth is but one and simple, that of particular profit and benefit of affaires a man hath in charge, double, uneven and accidentall .
  • (geometry) Being a double point with two distinct tangent planes in 4-dimensional projective space.

    • Synonyms

    * adventitious, casual, contingent, fortuitous, incidental, occasional, serendipitous

    Derived terms

    * accidental chords * accidental colors * accidental point * accidental lights

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.
  • * Fuller — He conceived it just that accidentals ... should sink with the substance of the accusation.
  • (painting, pluralonly) Those fortuitous effects produced by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow.
  • (music) A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note.

    • occidental

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of, pertaining to, or situated in, the occident, or west; western.
    • occidental''' climates, or customs; an '''occidental planet.
  • Of a gem or precious stone: of inferior value or quality.

    • Antonyms

    * (western) oriental

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A Western Christian of the Latin rite

    • See also

    * oriental * boreal * austral ----