n. [ Cf. Icel., Dan., & Sw. kast. ] 1. The act of casting or throwing; a throw. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The thing thrown. [ 1913 Webster ]

A cast of dreadful dust. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The distance to which a thing is or can be thrown. “About a stone's cast.” Luke xxii. 41. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A throw of dice; hence, a chance or venture. [ 1913 Webster ]

An even cast whether the army should march this way or that way. Sowth. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. That which is throw out or off, shed, or ejected; as, the skin of an insect, the refuse from a hawk's stomach, the excrement of a earthworm. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The act of casting in a mold. [ 1913 Webster ]

And why such daily cast of brazen cannon. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. An impression or mold, taken from a thing or person; amold; a pattern. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. That which is formed in a mild; esp. a reproduction or copy, as of a work of art, in bronze or plaster, etc.; a casting. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. Form; appearence; mien; air; style; as, a peculiar cast of countenance. “A neat cast of verse.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

An heroic poem, but in another cast and figure. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. A tendency to any color; a tinge; a shade. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gray with a cast of green. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. A chance, opportunity, privilege, or advantage; specifically, an opportunity of riding; a lift. [ Scotch ] [ 1913 Webster ]

We bargained with the driver to give us a cast to the next stage. Smollett. [ 1913 Webster ]

If we had the cast o' a cart to bring it. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. The assignment of parts in a play to the actors. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. (Falconary) A flight or a couple or set of hawks let go at one time from the hand. Grabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

As when a cast of falcons make their flight. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

14. A stoke, touch, or trick. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This was a cast of Wood's politics; for his information was wholly false. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

15. A motion or turn, as of the eye; direction; look; glance; squint. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cast of the eye is a gesture of aversion. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

And let you see with one cast of an eye. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

This freakish, elvish cast came into the child's eye. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

16. A tube or funnel for conveying metal into a mold. [ 1913 Webster ]

17. Four; that is, as many as are thrown into a vessel at once in counting herrings, etc; a warp. [ 1913 Webster ]

18. Contrivance; plot, design. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

A cast of the eye, a slight squint or strabismus. --
Renal cast (Med.), microscopic bodies found in the urine of persons affected with disease of the kidneys; -- so called because they are formed of matter deposited in, and preserving the outline of, the renal tubes. --
The last cast, the last throw of the dice or last effort, on which every thing is ventured; the last chance. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Cast; p. pr. & vb. n. Casting. ] [ Cf. Dan. kaste, Icel. & Sw. kasta; perh. akin to L. gerere to bear, carry. E. jest. ] 1. To send or drive by force; to throw; to fling; to hurl; to impel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Uzziah prepared . . . slings to cast stones. 2 Chron. xxvi. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. Acts. xii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

We must be cast upon a certain island. Acts. xxvii. 26. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To direct or turn, as the eyes. [ 1913 Webster ]

How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To drop; to deposit; as, to cast a ballot. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To throw down, as in wrestling. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thine enemies shall cast a trench [ bank ] about thee. Luke xix. 48. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To throw off; to eject; to shed; to lose. [ 1913 Webster ]

His filth within being cast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neither shall your vine cast her fruit. Mal. iii. 11 [ 1913 Webster ]

The creatures that cast the skin are the snake, the viper, etc. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To bring forth prematurely; to slink. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy she-goats have not cast their young. Gen. xxi. 38. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To throw out or emit; to exhale. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This . . . casts a sulphureous smell. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To cause to fall; to shed; to reflect; to throw; as, to cast a ray upon a screen; to cast light upon a subject. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To impose; to bestow; to rest. [ 1913 Webster ]

The government I cast upon my brother. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cast thy burden upon the Lord. Ps. iv. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To dismiss; to discard; to cashier. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The state can not with safety cast him. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. To compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast a horoscope. “Let it be cast and paid.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

You cast the event of war, my noble lord. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. To contrive; to plan. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The cloister . . . had, I doubt not, been cast for [ an orange-house ]. Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

14. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict; as, to be cast in damages. [ 1913 Webster ]

She was cast to be hanged. Jeffrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

15. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide; as, a casting voice. [ 1913 Webster ]

How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious! South. [ 1913 Webster ]

16. To form into a particular shape, by pouring liquid metal or other material into a mold; to fashion; to found; as, to cast bells, stoves, bullets. [ 1913 Webster ]

17. (Print.) To stereotype or electrotype. [ 1913 Webster ]

18. To fix, distribute, or allot, as the parts of a play among actors; also to assign (an actor) for a part. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our parts in the other world will be new cast. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cast anchor (Naut.) See under Anchor. --
To cast a horoscope, to calculate it. --
To cast a
horse, sheep, or other animal, to throw with the feet upwards, in such a manner as to prevent its rising again. --
To cast a shoe, to throw off or lose a shoe, said of a horse or ox. --
To cast aside, to throw or push aside; to neglect; to reject as useless or inconvenient. --
To cast away. (a) To throw away; to lavish; to waste. “Cast away a life” Addison. (b) To reject; to let perish. “Cast away his people.” Rom. xi. 1. “Cast one away.” Shak. (c) To wreck. “Cast away and sunk.” Shak. --
To cast by, to reject; to dismiss or discard; to throw away. --
To cast down, to throw down; to destroy; to deject or depress, as the mind. “Why art thou cast down. O my soul?” Ps. xiii. 5. --
To cast forth, to throw out, or eject, as from an inclosed place; to emit; to send out. --
To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of. --
To cast in one's teeth, to upbraid or abuse one for; to twin. --
To cast lots. See under Lot. --
To cast off. (a) To discard or reject; to drive away; to put off; to free one's self from. (b) (Hunting) To leave behind, as dogs; also, to set loose, or free, as dogs. Crabb. (c) (Naut.) To untie, throw off, or let go, as a rope. --
To cast off copy, (Print.), to estimate how much printed matter a given amount of copy will make, or how large the page must be in order that the copy may make a given number of pages. --
To cast one's self on or
To cast one's self upon to yield or submit one's self unreservedly to, as to the mercy of another. --
To cast out, to throw out; to eject, as from a house; to cast forth; to expel; to utter. --
To cast the lead (Naut.), to sound by dropping the lead to the bottom. --
To cast the water (Med.), to examine the urine for signs of disease. [ Obs. ]. --
To cast up. (a) To throw up; to raise. (b) To compute; to reckon, as the cost. (c) To vomit. (d) To twit with; to throw in one's teeth. [ 1913 Webster ]

3d pers. pres. of Cast, for Casteth. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To throw, as a line in angling, esp, with a fly hook. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) To turn the head of a vessel around from the wind in getting under weigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

Weigh anchor, cast to starboard. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To consider; to turn or revolve in the mind; to plan; as, to cast about for reasons. [ 1913 Webster ]

She . . . cast in her mind what manner of salution this should be. Luke. i. 29. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To calculate; to compute. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Who would cast and balance at a desk. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To receive form or shape in a mold. [ 1913 Webster ]

It will not run thin, so as to cast and mold. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To warp; to become twisted out of shape. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stuff is said to cast or warp when . . . it alters its flatness or straightness. Moxon. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To vomit. [ 1913 Webster ]

These verses . . . make me ready to cast. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Castalius ] Of or pertaining to Castalia, a mythical fountain of inspiration on Mt. Parnassus sacred to the Muses. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., a chestnut, fr. Gr. &unr_;. ] (Bot.) A genus of nut-bearing trees or shrubs including the chestnut and chinquapin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Castanets. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ F. castagnettes, Sp. castañetas, fr. L. castanea (Sp. castaña) a chestnut. So named from the resemblance to two chestnuts, or because chestnuts were first used for castanets. See Chestnut. ] Two small, concave shells of ivory or hard wood, shaped like spoons, fastened to the thumb, and beaten together with the middle finger; -- used by the Spaniards and Moors as an accompaniment to their dance and guitars. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The singular, castanet, is used of one of the pair, or, sometimes, of the pair forming the instrument. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dancer, holding a castanet in each hand, rattles them to the motion of his feet. Moore (Encyc. of Music). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs of warm regions valued for their foliage; found in southeastern U.S. and eastern Australia and northern New Zealand.
Syn. -- genus Castanopsis. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a genus consisting of one species, the Moreton Bay chestnut.
Syn. -- genus Castanospermum. [ WordNet 1.5 ]