▪ I. overˈcasting, vbl. n.
[f. overcast v. + -ing1.]
The action of the verb overcast.
1. a. The action of casting over or upon, or of covering or coating with something; spec. the coating of brick or stone work with plaster.
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 263/1 Ouercastyng, obduccio, obductus. 1599 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 478 For the overcasting of..the stone wall. Ibid. 486 For the over⁓casting of the greate Tower 10 dayes xxs. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 314 Some are busie in building, others in plaistering and ouercasting. |
† b. Used to render L. intersectio, intersection (= throwing over or across). Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xl. (Tollem. MS), By oute castynge, and strecchynge and ouercastynge..of bemis, lyȝt bryngeþ forþe all þinges. |
† 2. The action of overthrowing or casting down; upsetting. Obs.
| 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 129 Poudre..brent in the botom of the Tour of Aiton for the spedy ouercasting of the same. 1552 Elyot Dict., Malachia..the longyng of women with childe, and ouercastynge of theyr stomacke, if thei haue not that they longe for. |
3. A covering with or as with clouds; an over shadowing, darkening (lit. and fig.).
| 1598 Florio, Nebbia, a cloude, an ouercasting of the skie. 1610 P. Barrough Meth. Physick viii. (1639) 446 Qualming and overcasting of the heart. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. iv. (ed. 2) 86 An overcasting of murky vapour. |
4. Needlework and Bookbinding. (See overcast v. 7.)
| 1885 Brietzcke & Rooper Plain Needlewk. I. 20 Over⁓casting is used to prevent raw edges of materials from getting unravelled. 1885 W. J. E. Crane Bookbinding for Amateurs vi. 54 There is another way of overcasting more used in London. 1893 Weldon's Pract. Needlewk. VIII. No. 90. 9/2 The outline of this pretty leaf is defined in raised overcasting. 1894 Ibid. IX. No. 106. 6/2 It is the custom to put an overcasting of buttonhole stitch round the edge of blankets to ensure against unravelling..and also to add to its good appearance. 1901 D. Cockerell Bookbinding 316 Overcasting, over-sewing the back edges of single leaves or weak sections. 1931 A. Esdaile Student's Man. Bibliogr. vi. 182 Overcasting, a more respectable form of stabbing, by which the folds are sewn together beyond, and enclosing, the ordinary sewing. |
▪ II. overˈcasting, ppl. a.
[f. as prec. + -ing2.]
That overcasts: see the verb.
| 1837 Ware Lett. fr. Palmyra xvi. (1860) 409 No over⁓casting shadows which at all disturb your peace. 1901 D. Cockerell Bookbinding ii. 51 The custom with binders is to overcast the backs of the leaves in sections, and to sew through the overcasting thread. 1964 McCall's Sewing 134/2 A row of machine-stitching close to the raw edge serves as a guide for keeping overcasting stitches even. |