occidental
/ˌɒk.səˈdɛn.təl/adjective, noun
occidental is spelled O-C-C-I-D-E-N-T-A-L: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, occidental means “Of, pertaining to, or situated in, the occident, or west; western” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in occidental?
| Letters | 10: O-C-C-I-D-E-N-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,236th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is occidental?
Occidental appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce occidental?
- /ˌɒk.səˈdɛn.təl/
Occidental has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-occidental.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of occidental
- more occidental comparative
- most occidental superlative
- occidentals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does occidental mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, pertaining to, or situated in, the occident, or west; western.
occidental climates, or customs; an occidental planet.
- 2
Of a gem or precious stone: of inferior value or quality.
noun
- 1
A Western Christian of the Latin rite
adjective
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of occidental.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Occidental in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of the occident:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | occidental |
| German | abendländisch, okzidental |
| Spanish | occidental, poniente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does occidental come from?
Borrowed from Middle French occidental, from Latin occidentalis, equivalent to occident + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).