CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf.

See also:

• DAN

Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in

See also:

• MIDDLE

Middle Eng. took the

See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of the A.S. weor

See also:

• PAN (" pasturer ")
• PAN (common in various forms to many Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Pfanne; it is generally taken to be an early adaptation in a shortened form of Lat. patina, shallow bowl or dish, from patere, to lie open)

pan, cf. Ger. werf en)  , a throw, or that which is thrown, or that into which something is thrown . From these three meanings come the main uses of the word; for the throwing of dice, with the figurative sense of a chance or opportunity, as in " at the last cast "; for the throwing of a fisherman's line in fly-fishing; for hounds spreading out in search of a lost scent; or, with the further meaning of a twisted throw or turn, for a slight squint in the eye . " Cast " is applied to a measure of herrings or other fish, being the amount taken in two hands to be thrown into a vessel, and similarly to a potter's measure for a certain quantity of clay; in fishing, to the casting line of gut with fly attached; to the hard refuse thrown out of the crop of a bird of prey, and to the coils of earth thrown up by earth-worms . From the old method, in making calculations, of using counters, which were thus " thrown " up into a heap, is probably derived the meaning of " cast " for the " casting up " of figures in an account . Further, the word is found for a mould for the casting of metals, and more particularly for the copy of an original statue or relief taken from a mould; similarly, of fossils, for the mineral filling of the empty mould left by the organism . Special uses of the word are also found in the theatrical term for the assignment of particular parts to the actors and actresses in a play, and in the many figurative senses of a type or stamp, as of features or characters .