To happen or take place; it can also mean to come into someone’s mind.
From Latin "occurrere" meaning "to run up against, happen," from "ob-" (toward) and "currere" (to run). Events were imagined as things that "run toward" you.
When we say "it occurred to me," we’re picturing an idea running up to our mind, almost like it has legs. That same image explains why events "occur"—they run into our timeline whether we planned them or not.
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