cast
UK /kɑːst/ · US /kæst/ verb, noun, adjective, proper noun
Forms casts casting casted castest casteth
- verb (physical) To move, or be moved, away.
- verb (now somewhat literary) To throw.
- verb To throw forward (a fishing line, net etc.) into the sea.
- verb To throw down or aside.
- verb (of an animal) To throw off (the skin) as a process of growth; to shed the hair or fur of the coat.
- verb (botany) To shed leaves or fruit prematurely.
- verb (obsolete except in set phrases) To remove, take off (clothes).
- verb (nautical) To heave the lead and line in order to ascertain the depth of water.
- noun An act of throwing.
- noun The number rolled on a die when it is thrown.
- noun (fishing) An instance of throwing out a fishing line.
- noun Something which has been thrown, dispersed etc.
- noun A small mass of earth "thrown off" or excreted by a worm. “The area near the stream was covered with little bubbly worm casts.”
- noun (theater) The collective group of actors performing a play or production together. “He’s in the cast of Oliver.”
- noun The casting procedure. “The men got into position for the cast, two at the ladle, two with long rods, all with heavy clothing.”
- noun An object made in a mould. “The cast would need a great deal of machining to become a recognizable finished part.”
- adjective Of an animal, such as a horse or sheep: Lying in a position from which it cannot rise on its own.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
fling hurl bung chuck chunk cook dash dump feck jerk heave hield hoy huck hurtle launch lob peck peg pick cast of characters dramatis personae mold mould stamp form shape plaster cast plaster bandage casting
Etymology
From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta (“to throw, cast, overturn”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), of unknown origin.
Cognate with Scots cast (“to cast, throw”), Danish kaste (“to throw”), Swedish kasta (“to throw, cast, fling, toss, discard”), Icelandic kasta (“to pitch, toss”). In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp.
The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.
* As a German surname, Americanized from Kast.
* As an English surname, variant of Cass.
* As a French surname, from Cast, Finistère in Brittany, ultimately from Latin castra (“fortification”). Sometimes also a variant of Caste, from Old French chaste (“chaste”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To send or drive by force; to throw; to fling; to hurl; to impel.
- verb To direct or turn, as the eyes.
- verb To throw, as a line in angling, esp, with a fly hook.
- verb To turn the head of a vessel around from the wind in getting under weigh.
Etymology [Cf. Dan. kastw, Icel. & Sw. kasta; perh. akin to L. gerer to bear, carry. E. Jest.]
Etymology [Cf. Icel., Dan., & Sw. kast.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cast”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details