occlusion
|o-clu-sion|
/əˈkluːʒən/
blocking; closing off
Etymology
'occlusion' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'occlusio', where the prefix 'ob- / oc-' meant 'against' and the root 'claudere' meant 'to shut'.
'occlusio' passed into Medieval Latin as 'occlusio', influenced Old French (e.g. 'occlusion'), and was adopted into Middle English and then modern English as 'occlusion'.
Initially it meant 'the action of shutting or closing (up)', but over time it has come to denote various kinds of blockage or closing (medical blockages, dental bite relations, meteorological fronts, visual blocking) in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the act or process of closing, blocking, or shutting off; a state in which something is closed or blocked.
The occlusion of the pipeline caused a temporary halt in water supply.
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Noun 2
in medicine, the blockage or closing of a blood vessel or hollow organ (e.g., arterial occlusion).
Early diagnosis of arterial occlusion can prevent tissue damage.
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Noun 3
in dentistry, the manner in which the upper and lower teeth come together (bite/contact between teeth).
The dentist examined his occlusion to see if braces were needed.
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Noun 4
in meteorology, the condition when a cold front overtakes a warm front, producing an occluded front.
The weather map showed an occlusion forming over the region.
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Noun 5
in computer graphics and vision, the blocking of one object by another so that part or all of it is not visible (visual occlusion).
The algorithm accounts for occlusion when reconstructing the scene from multiple views.
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Last updated: 2025/08/30 01:02