What is the meaning of occult?
The occult (from the Latin word occultus “clandestine, hidden, secret”) is “knowledge of the hidden”. In common usage, occult refers to “knowledge of the paranormal”, as opposed to “knowledge of the measurable”, usually referred to as science.
How do you spell occultism?
The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky.
What is a correct pronunciation?
Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect (“correct pronunciation“) or simply the way a particular individual speaks a word or language.
Is the L silent in polka?
Rather, the term polka dot current since the 1850’s, has simply undergone the very common phenomenon of l-dropping : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonants#L_vocalization_and_L_dropping while the term polka for the dance has retained it’s /l/ due to reinforcement by foreign speakers
David Nilsen is the former editor of Fourth & Sycamore. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can find more of his writing on his website at davidnilsenwriter.com and follow him on Twitter as @NilsenDavid.