▪ I. casting, vbl. n.
(ˈkɑːstɪŋ, -æ-)
[f. cast v. + -ing1.]
The action of the verb cast in various senses.
1. a. trans. Throwing, throwing up; ejection, vomiting; calculation; swarming (of bees); arranging, etc. esp. the action or process of founding (metal or glass).
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cxxxiii. (1495) 690 Juys of leke to drynke ayenst castynge of blood. 1428–1474–5 in M.E.D. 1493 [see cast v. 25 b]. 1540 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 289 Pamenntt of viij li...for castynge and makyng of y⊇ thyrd bell. 1542 Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden Soc.) 11 The castynge of a new peise for the clocke. 1557 Recorde Whetst. R iv b, Trust not to my castynge. 1615 Latham Falconry (1633) 23 So great casting and long fasting maketh her to dye. 1626 Bacon Sylva (J.) Every casting of the skin. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden cxvi. 167 [Whortle-berries]..do somewhat bind the belly, and stay castings and loathings. 1668 Markham Way to Wealth 77 In the time of casting [of bees]. 1783 Ainsworth Lat. Dict. (Morell) i, The casting of a deer's head. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. ii. ii. 68 Casting of the bar is..one part of an hero's education. 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 172 A scheme to teach the casting of nativities. 1832 G. R. Porter Porc. & Glass ii. i. 139 The first English establishment of magnitude for the casting of plate glass was undertaken in 1773. 1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. (1875) 36 A new casting of that story. 1872 Youatt Horse (ed. W. Watson) xxii. 456 We are no friends to the casting of horses, if it can possibly be prevented. 1962 Gloss. Terms Glass Ind. (B.S.I.) 21 Casting, a process of shaping glass by pouring it into a mould or on to a table or passing it between rollers. |
b. with adverbs.
| 1340 Ayenb. 15 Þe zixte kestinge out of the ilke boȝe is wyþstondinge. 1382 Wyclif Heb. ii. 16 Casting up of yuel fame vpon thi glorie. 1549 Latimer Serm. v. (Arb.) 157 A casting away of God. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Delaissement, a forsaking, a casting off. 1742 R. Blair Grave 550 Nor anxious casting-up of what might be. 1769 Wilkes' Corr. (1805) I. 265 The casting up of the books..by the sheriffs. 1845–6 Trench Huls. Lect. Ser. ii. v. 220 A casting off of its old and wrinkled skin. 1871 Walford Insurance Cycl. I. 460 Casting away of ships—an offence of very frequent occurrence. |
c. Theatr. and
Cinemat. The assigning of parts to suitable actors and actresses.
| 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park I. xiii. 253 From the first casting of the parts, to the epilogue, it was all bewitching. 1926 Contemp. Rev. June 757 The initial failure of Ivanov in a private theatre..was accidental and due mainly to wrong casting. 1952 Eliot & Hoellering Film of Murder in Cathedral 8 In the theatre, the first problem to present itself is likely to be that of casting. |
d. In ploughing, the method and operation of turning all the furrow-slices of a ridge in one direction, and those of the adjoining ridge in the opposite direction.
| 1825 Loudon Encycl. Agric. ii. v. 471 The form of the old ridges, and the situation of the inter-furrows, are preserved by what is called casting, that is, the furrows of each ridge are all laid in one direction, while those of the next adjoining ridges are turned the contrary way. 1837 J. F. Burke Brit. Husb. II. 46 It is sometimes desirable to throw two ridges into one... This operation is called casting. 1855 Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 646/1 The mysteries of ‘gathering up’, ‘rown and furrow’ ploughing, ‘casting’, ‘yoking or coupling’ ridges [etc.]. |
2. intr. Also with
adv.| 1575 Turberv. Venerie xl. 120 If they cannot make it out at the first casting about. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. i. ii, All Reasoning is search, and casting about. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship II. 247 Casting, the motion of falling off, so as to bring the direction of the wind on either side of the ship. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 221 Casting or Warping, the bending of the surfaces of a piece of wood. 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. III. iv. v. §13 The casting about for sources of interest in senseless fiction. |
3. concr. a. Any product of casting in a mould; an object in cast metal.
b. The convoluted earth cast up by worms.
c. Vomit;
esp. the excrementitious substances cast up by hawks and the like; also in
Falconry, ‘anything given to a hawk to cleanse and purge her gorge, whether it be flannel, thrummes, feathers, or such like’ (Latham
Falconry 1615).
| 1388 Wyclif 2 Pet. ii. 22 The hound turnede aȝen to his castyng. c 1430 Bk. Hawkyng in Rel. Ant. I. 297 An hawke that hath casting, and may not cast. 1486 Bk. St. Albans A iij b, Looke that hir castyng be plumage. 1558 Bp. Watson Seven Sacram. x. 58 A dogge turneth back to eate agayne his castynge. 1565–78 Cooper Thesaur. s.v. Crusta, Covered with..the playster of a wall or rough casting. 1618 Beaum. & Fl. Loyal Subj. iii. v, The onely casting for a crazie conscience. 1657 Rumsey Org. Salutis iv. (1659) 24 All manner of Hawks cast their castings every morning. 1704 Worlidge Dict. Rust. et Urb. s.v. Gerfaulcon, Since they are crafty Birds..instead of cotton, give 'em a Casting of Tow. 1788 J. Fitch Original Steam-boat Supported 10 His application..for castings for a steam-engine. 1851 Crystal Palace & Great Exhib. xi. 156 In the castings, for which Germany is deservedly famous, there is much to admire. 1869 Eng. Mech. 3 Dec. 274/2 The best castings are seldom or never made in an open mould. 1874 Wood Nat. Hist. 282 In the ‘castings’ of this species have been found the remains of mice. 1881 Darwin Veg. Mould 9 Earth-worms abound..Their castings may be seen in extraordinary numbers on commons. 1884 Law Times Rep. LI. 536/2 Means by which the owners of the foundry can remove their castings. |
4. attrib. and in
Comb., as
casting-darts,
casting-house,
casting-line,
casting-net,
casting-shovel,
casting-time, etc.; also
casting-box,
† (
a) a dice-box (
obs.); (
b) a box used in taking a cast for stereotyping;
casting-couch colloq. (
orig. U.S.), see
quots.;
† casting-counters pl., counters used in calculation or reckoning;
casting director, one responsible for casting (sense 1 c);
casting-ladle, an iron ladle used for conveying the molten metal into the mould in casting;
casting-machine, (
a) in a blast furnace a machine used in casting metal; (
b) a machine for founding type;
casting-pit, that part of a foundry where the moulds are placed and the castings made;
casting-plate = casting-table;
casting-pot, (
a) a box in which a stereotype plate is cast; (
b) a crucible;
casting-press, an apparatus for subjecting metal to pressure during the process of casting;
casting-reel, the reel of a casting-line;
casting sand, black moulding sand that has been used for castings;
† casting-sheet (see
quot.);
casting-shop, the place where the operation of casting metal, etc., is carried out;
casting-slab,
-table, a table of polished metal with raised edges which serves as a mould for plate-glass;
† casting-top, a peg-top.
| 1616 B. Holyday Persius 311 Cogging forth a die Out of the small-neck'd *casting-box. 1880 Print. Times 15 Mar. 61/1 The matrix must be allowed to dry without the application of heat, or the blocks will split. The casting-box, slightly heated, is generally used in such cases. |
| 1948 Mencken Amer. Lang. Suppl. II. xi. ii. 704 Terms emanating from Hollywood wits..*casting-couch for the divan in a casting-director's office. 1963 Sunday Express 27 Jan. 22/6 In the old days..the only way anyone got anywhere in this business was by way of the casting couch. 1966 C. Fenn Pyramid of Night ix. 183 Get a load of that casting couch. What girl wouldn't want to be laid on velvet? |
| a 1529 Skelton Vox populi, Thes are the vpstart gentylmen With *castinge cownteres and ther pen. 1612 T. James Corrupt. Scripture iv. 1 Vsing them, as Merchants doe their casting counters, sometimes they stand for pounds, sometimes for shillings, sometimes for pence. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 199 They would not bring him in amongst the Kings Casting-Counters. |
| 1924 G. S. Dougherty Criminal as Human Being ii. 48 You have all heard of the *casting director who selects actors of suitable type for the movies. 1950 T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party iii. 150 We've got the casting director: He's looking for some typical English faces. |
| 1883 Pall Mall G. 30 June 3/2 Morice's bronze statue of the Republic..was transported last night..from the *casting-house. |
| 1861 Fairbairn Iron 157 No sooner is the mixture of the metals effected than the *casting-ladle is brought under the mouth of the vessel. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 345/1 The casting ladle into which the contents of the converters are emptied. |
| 1872 Echo 30 Sept., Busy..renovating *casting lines, assorting hooks. |
| 1899 Chambers's Jrnl. 25 Nov. 829/2 Pig-iron *casting-machines. 1902 Census Bulletin 216, 28 June 58 (Cent. Dict. Suppl.), The monotype..consists of two machines—a perforating device operated by a keyboard, and a casting-machine. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §524 Monotype caster attendant..operates and adjusts casting machine. |
| a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 52 Threw *Casting-nets, with equal Cunning at her [the moon] To catch her with, and pull her out o' th' Water. 1859 Lang Wand. Ind. 310 A clear stream called the Ram Gunga, in which we caught a quantity of fish with a casting-net. |
| 1884 W. H. Greenwood Steel & Iron xxi. 469 In the centre of the [Bessemer] *casting-pit is fixed a hydraulic crane. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §279 Moulder, casting pit..shapes moulds in sand, in casting pit. |
| 1881 Spons' Encycl. Industr. Arts iii. 1061 The impressions are given by projections on the *casting-plate, which acts as a mould. |
| 1846 Dodd Brit. Manuf. VI. 60 The *casting-pot, with the mould,..is gradually forced down into the molten mass. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade 75/1 Casting-pot, a pot adapted for melting metals. Casting-pot and Crucible maker, a special trade in the iron districts. |
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Casting-press, one in which metal is cast under pressure, as in the car-wheel press. |
| 1892 Niven Brit. Angler's Lexicon 192 The ‘Malloch’ *casting reel is used for spinning only. |
| 1849 N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 30 Our sugar is black enough for *casting sand. |
| 1644 Bury Wills (1850) 186, I doe give with my owne hands vnto Alice my wife, my *castinge sheet. |
| 1871 Daily News 2 Jan. 3/5 He was carrying some lead from one part of the yard to the *casting shop. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. (1807) II. 299 To have the grain cleaned by means of the *casting-shovel. |
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., *Casting-slab. |
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Glass, When the first Annealing Furnace is full, the Casting-table is to be carried to another. 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 256/1 The cuvette is withdrawn from the furnace and taken to the casting-table. |
| 1668 Markham Way to Wealth 77 Too little hives procure bees, in *casting time..to cast before they be ripe. |
| 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden 169 The fruit is in forme like a *casting-Top. |
5. casting-bottle, a bottle for sprinkling perfumed waters; a vinaigrette. So
† casting-glass.
| c 1530 in Gutch Coll. Cur. II. 342 A Cheyne and Howke for twoo casting Bottellis. 1544 Privy Purse Exp. P'cess Mary (1830) 144 Item my lady Buttler a Casting-glasse and a Smoke. 1602 B. Jonson Ev. Man out Hum. iv. (N.) His civet and his casting-glass Have helpt him to a place among the rest. 1638 Ford Fancies i. ii. 127 Enter Secco, sprinkling his hat and face with a casting bottle. 1883 J. Payne 1001 Nts. VI. 211 A casting-bottle full of rose water. |
▪ II. casting, ppl. a. (
ˈkɑːstɪŋ,
-æ-)
[f. cast v. + -ing2.] 1. That casts, in various senses of the
vb. a. trans. Of a bow, etc.: Throwing, shooting (see also
quot. 1483).
b. intr. Of bees: Swarming.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26020 Þis reuth es like a castand gin. 1483 Cath. Angl. 55 Castynge as a bowe, flexibilis. 1485 Caxton Higden v. xiv. (1527) 201 A wonder fell man and ferre casting. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 29 Except they be..vnbent like a good casting bowe. 1565–78 Cooper Thesaur. Acer arcus, a strong or quicke casting bowe. 1627 Drayton Agincourt 28 Like casting Bees that they arise in swarmes. |
2. That turns the scale, deciding, decisive (see
cast v. 55), as in
casting voice,
casting vote,
casting weight.
| 1622 in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 101 There can be in a Court but one casting voyce or ball. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 231 Which..containe within themselves the casting act, and a power to command the conclusion. 1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. iv. 141 Even the Herbs of the Field give a casting vote against Atheism. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 17 ¶3 The President to have the casting Voice. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 177 That casting-weight pride adds to emptiness. 1828 D'Israeli Chas. I, I. vi. 160 The alliance of England was a casting weight in the government of the world. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 783 The question was decided by the casting vote of the Chancellor. |