cast

I. verb (cast; casting) Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse kasta; akin to Old Norse kǫs heap Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. a. to cause to move or send forth by throwing <

cast a fishing lure

> <

cast dice

> b. direct <

cast a glance

> c. (1) to put forth <

the fire casts a warm glow

> <

cast light on the subject

> (2) to place as if by throwing <

cast doubt on their reliability

> d. to deposit (a ballot) formally e. (1) to throw off or away <

the horse cast a shoe

> (2) to get rid of ; discard <

cast off all restraint

> (3) shed, molt (4) to bring forth; especially to give birth to prematurely f. to throw to the ground especially in wrestling g. to build by throwing up earth 2. a. (1) to perform arithmetical operations on ; add (2) to calculate by means of astrology b. archaic decide, intend 3. a. to dispose or arrange into parts or into a suitable form or order b. (1) to assign the parts of (a dramatic production) to actors <

cast a movie

> (2) to assign (as an actor) to a role or part <

was cast in the leading role

> 4. a. to give a shape to (a substance) by pouring in liquid or plastic form into a mold and letting harden without pressure <

cast steel

> b. to form by this process 5. turn <

cast the scale slightly

> 6. to make (a knot or stitch) by looping or catching up 7. twist, warp <

a beam cast by age

> intransitive verb 1. to throw something; specifically to throw out a lure with a fishing rod 2. dialect British vomit 3. dialect England to bear fruit ; yield 4. a. to perform addition b. obsolete estimate, conjecture 5. warp 6. to range over land in search of a trail — used of hunting dogs or trackers 7. veer Synonyms: see discard, throw • castability noun • castable adjective II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. an act of casting b. something that happens as a result of chance c. a throw of dice d. a throw of a line (as a fishing line) or net 2. a. the form in which a thing is constructed b. (1) the set of actors in a dramatic production (2) a set of characters or persons <

in both great houses there is the usual cast of servants — Elizabeth Bowen

> c. the arrangement of draperies in a painting 3. the distance to which a thing can be thrown; specifically the distance a bow can shoot 4. a. a turning of the eye in a particular direction; also expression <

this freakish, elfish cast came into the child's eye — Nathaniel Hawthorne

> b. a slight strabismus 5. something that is thrown or the quantity thrown; especially British the leader of a fishing line 6. a. something that is formed by casting in a mold or form: as (1) a reproduction (as of a statue) in metal or plaster ; casting (2) a fossil reproduction of the details of a natural object by mineral infiltration b. an impression taken from an object with a liquid or plastic substance ; mold c. a rigid casing (as of fiberglass or of gauze impregnated with plaster of paris) used for immobilizing a usually diseased or broken part 7. forecast, conjecture 8. a. an overspread of a color or modification of the appearance of a substance by a trace of some added hue ; shade <

gray with a greenish cast

> b. tinge, suggestion 9. a. a ride on one's way in a vehicle ; lift b. Scottish help, assistance 10. a. shape, appearance <

the delicate cast of her features

> b. characteristic quality <

his father's conservative cast of mind

> 11. something that is shed, ejected, or thrown out or off: as a. the excrement of an earthworm b. a mass of soft matter formed in cavities of diseased organs and discharged from the body c. the skin of an insect 12. the ranging in search of a trail by a dog, hunting pack, or tracker