Busy with or engaged in a particular activity; residing in or controlling a place; past tense of 'occupy.'
From Latin occupare meaning 'to seize, take possession of,' from ob- 'over' + capere 'to take.' The sense of being busy developed from the idea of taking up space or time with an activity.
Occupied brilliantly captures how attention and space work similarly - when your mind is occupied with thoughts, it's literally 'seized' by them, just as an army occupies territory. The word reveals that mental engagement and physical possession operate by the same principle: taking hold of something and filling it with your presence.
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