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Occult vs Preternatural - What's the difference?

occult | preternatural |

As adjectives the difference between occult and preternatural

is that occult is (lb) secret; hidden from general knowledge; undetected while preternatural is beyond or different from what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange; inexplicable; extraordinary; abnormal.

As a verb occult

is (astronomy) to cover or hide from view.

As a noun occult

is supernatural affairs.

occult

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • (astronomy) To cover or hide from view.
    • The earth occults the moon during a lunar eclipse.
  • (rare) To dissimulate, conceal, or obfuscate.

    • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (lb) Secret; hidden from general knowledge; undetected
  • :
  • *(Isaac Taylor) (1787–1865)
  • *:It is of an occult kind, and is so insensible in its advances as to escape observation.
  • Related to the occult; pertaining to mysticism, magic, or astrology.
  • Esoteric.
  • *
  • *:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ ("I never) understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."

    • Derived terms

    * occult line

    Noun

    (-)
  • Supernatural affairs.

    • Related terms

    * occultation

    preternatural

    English

    (wikipedia preternatural)

    Alternative forms

    * praeternatural * (archaic)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Beyond or different from what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange; inexplicable; extraordinary; abnormal.
  • * 1882 , , The Red Man and the White Man in North America , p. 152,
    • Doubtless there has been some exaggeration in the picturesque and fanciful relations of the almost preternatural skill and cunning of the Indian, [...]
  • * '>citation
  • (dated) Having an existence outside of the natural world.
  • * 1817 , ",
    • Macbeth is like a record of a preternatural and tragical event.
  • * 1860 , ,
    • Not Leonore, in that preternatural midnight excursion with her phantom lover, was more terrified than poor Maggie in this entirely natural ride on a short-paced donkey, [...]
  • * 1925 , ",
    • Vansittart Smith, fixing his eyes upon the fellow's skin, was conscious of a sudden impression that there was something inhuman and preternatural about its appearance.

    Usage notes

    In modern secular use, refers to extraordinary but still natural phenomena, as in “preternatural' talent”. In religious and occult usage, used similarly to supernatural, meaning “outside of nature”, but usually to a lower level than (term) – it can be used synonymously (identical to supernatural), as a hypernym (a kind of supernatural), or a coordinate term (similar to supernatural, but a distinct category). For example, in Catholic theology, ' preternatural refers to properties of creatures like angels, while (term) refers to properties of God alone.

    Synonyms

    * (beyond or different from usual) abnormal, exceptional, extraordinary, uncanny * (not natural) paranormal, supernatural, unnatural

    Derived terms

    * preternaturally

    References

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