1. Western; as opposed to oriental; pertaining to the western quarter of the hemisphere, or to some part of the earth westward of the speaker or spectator: "There are occidental climates, occidental pearls, and even occidental gold"

"The music on the radio had a very occidental quality about it; sounding as if it were inspired by European masters."

2. When capitalized, Occidental, denotes or is characteristic of countries of Europe and the Western Hemisphere which is the opposite of Oriental or eastern countries: "The colonialists wrote often about their Occidental adventures."

The adjective and noun Oriental, with reference to people from East Asia, is now regarded as a relic of Western colonialism and should be avoided. The preferred term is Asian.