“‘Occult’ means hidden.” – Bill Cooper.
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge (γνῶσις, gnōsis, f.). The term is used in various Hellenistic religions and philosophies. It is best known from Gnosticism, where it signifies a knowledge or insight into humanity’s real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.
(Etymology): Gnosis is a feminine Greek noun which means “knowledge” or “awareness.” It is often used for personal knowledge compared with intellectual knowledge (εἶδειν eídein), as with the French connaître compared with savoir, the Spanish conocer compared with saber, the Italian conoscere compared with sapere, the German kennen rather than wissen, or the Modern Greek γνωρίζω compared with ξέρω.
A related term is the adjective gnostikos, “cognitive”, a reasonably common adjective in Classical Greek. Plato uses the plural adjective γνωστικοί – gnostikoi and the singular feminine adjective γνωστικὴ ἐπιστήμη – gnostike episteme in his Politikos where Gnostike episteme was also used to indicate one’s aptitude. The terms do not appear to indicate any mystic, esoteric or hidden meaning in the works of Plato, but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.
Plato The Statesman 258e:
“— Stranger: In this way, then, divide all science into two arts, calling the one practical (praktikos), and the other purely intellectual (gnostikos). Younger Socrates: Let us assume that all science is one and that these are its two forms.”
In the Hellenistic era the term became associated with the mystery cults.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosis
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