English
occidental
Occidental comes from Latin occidentalis ‘western, westerly’, from occidēns ‘west’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- ‘to fall’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccidō‘to fall down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccidēns‘west’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccidentalis‘western, westerly’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600occidental
- Englishearliest quotation 1921same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccidō‘to fall down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccidēns‘west’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccidentalis‘western, westerly’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600occidental
- Englishearliest quotation 1921same form
Earliest quotation: 1921, George Weidman Groff, The Lychee and Lungan: “Most occidentals resident in South China have joined the…”
Formed from occident + -al
Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- ‘to fall’
…
Latin occido ‘go down, set’
Latin occidentem ‘western sky, part of the sky in which the sun…’
Old French occident ‘the west’
Middle English occident
English occident
Linked words
through Latin cadō ‘to fall’
case, chance, occasion, cheat, accident, incident, decay, casualty, coincide, incidence, cadence, cadaver, deciduous, decadent, recidivism, 16 more
Today it means
adj Of, pertaining to, or situated in, the occident, or west; western.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- / occidental