downcastn.1
/ˈdaʊnkɑːst/, /ˈdaʊnkast/, U.S. /ˈdaʊnˌkæst/ 1.
a. The action or an act of casting down a person or thing; the fact of being cast down; overthrow, ruin; dejection. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > overthrow of a person, institution, belief, etc.
fallOE
confusionc1290
subversiona1325
overthrowingc1330
overturninga1398
downcasta1400
wrackc1400
downcastingc1425
eversionc1425
profligationc1475
demolitionc1550
overturec1555
wreck1577
overturnc1592
racking?1689
upsetting1827
subversal1843
demolishment1884
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 23721 Dame fortune turnes þan hir quele And castes vs dun..O þat dun-cast we mai wit chance Enentis þis werld to get couerance.
1550 Dundee Charters (1880) No. 54 Throu the greit heirschippis and douncastis..thai haif gottin be oure saidis auld inymeis.
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 112 Exaltation of them selues, and downcast of all that side not with them.
1675 E. Polhill Answer Disc. William Sherlock iii. 59 There would have been no Tempter to Man; or, had their been one, he could have sent the holy Angels to warn him from the late downcast of their fellows.
a1834 L. Dow Dealings of God (1849) 67/2 From that time to this, I have not had that extacy of joy or that downcast of spirit as formerly.
1981 Villanovan (Villanova Univ.) 3 Apr. 12/2 In endless situations, Damien has proven his determination to avenge his downcast from Heaven into everlasting Hell.
b. The action or an act of directing one's gaze downwards.
ΚΠ
1600 R. Chambers Palestina 50 When the riddle was so rightly read, with a modest downcast of her eyes, she acknowledged it.
1723 R. Steele Conscious Lovers ii. i. 37 I saw the respectful Downcast of his Eye, when you catcht him gazing at you during the Musick.
a1794 S. Blamire Poet. Wks. (1842) 57 To feel the sudden downcast of an eye, And long before anticipate a sigh.
1841 Robert's Semi-monthly Mag. 15 Sept. 677/2 The downcast of her bright eye, the quick and agitated breathing, might all encourage him to proceed.
1884 R. D. Blackmore Hist. Sir T. Upmore II. v. 66 There was a smile to pay; not to mention the downcast of eyes sometimes, and sometimes their uplifting with a soft, sweet light.
1982 G. A. Browne 19 Purchase Street xix. 329 Horridge conveyed with a brief downcast of his eyes that nothing would follow until that New York Post was out of sight.
2002 M. Chance Susannah Morrow xv. 160 That it mattered to her what she'd left behind had never occurred to me before that moment, not until I saw the quick downcast of her glance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > discontinuity or unconformity > [noun] > fault > upthrust or downcast
upcast1793
throw1796
upthrow1807
downcast1810
upcast dyke1810
downthrow1820
upthrust1942
1810 J. Bailey Gen. View Agric. County of Durham 29 They are denominated up-cast dykes, and down-cast dykes, as the strata are cast up or down, according to the direction in which the colliery is working.
1819 A. Rees Cycl. XII Downcast, a term among Miners and Colliers for the sinking down of the measures or strata on one side of a fault.
1852 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 8 i. 38 Can we then say, that the Pennine fault ever produces a downcast of 2000 feet on its western side?
1881 Q. Rev. July 102 Upliftings and downcasts of strata.
1916 T. C. Cantrill et al. Geol. S. Wales Coalfield xii. xii.136 On the north-western side of Nolton Haven the sandstones are cut by several faults, which range a little east of north and appear to be easterly downcasts.
3. The ventilation shaft by which fresh air is introduced into a mine. Chiefly attributive, as downcast shaft, downcast pit, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > passage > ventilation passages or openings
througher1645
thirling1686
air-pit1709
horse-head1747
sollar1778
airway1800
wind-hole1802
bearing door1813
air course1814
downcast shaft1814
upcast shaft (or pit)1816
buze1823
air road1832
raggling1839
thirl1847
brattice1849
intake1849
run1849
trapdoor1849
skailing1850
return1851
wind-road1860
breakthrough1875
wind-way1875
breast1882
cross-heading1883
skail-door1883
U.C.1883
undercast1883
vent1886
furnace-drift1892
1814 J. Buddle 1st Rep. Soc. Preventing Accidents Coal Mines 8 Under the exhausting system the atmosphere always presses on the downcast shaft.
1859 Ann. Reg. 43 Worked by a single shaft, for both the ‘up-cast’ and the ‘down-cast’.
1874 Eng. Mechanic 23 Jan. 449/2 A temperature is maintained in the down-cast pit nearly equal to that of the atmosphere.
1920 Pennsylvania Bituminous Mine Inspector's Exam. (Mine Safety Appliances Company) 29 The temperature of the down cast is 40°.
1991 Nucl. Energy June 173/2 The downcast ventilation shaft—Konrad 1—is to be used for the transport of the iron ore excavated during the construction of the disposal rooms.
2002 Mining Mag. (Nexis) June 272 At Bosjesspruit, one upcast and one downcast shaft (both 7.1 m diameter) had to be sunk to a depth of 173 m.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
downcastadj.n.2
/ˈdaʊnkɑːst/, /ˈdaʊnkast/, U.S. /ˈdaʊnˌkæst/ A. adj.
1.
a. Of a look, the eyes, or a facial expression: directed downwards, lowered, esp. as expressing dejection, sorrow, discouragement, etc., or (occasionally) modesty, meekness. Also of a person's appearance: expressing dejection; crestfallen, forlorn.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective]
ungladc888
wearyc888
drearyc1000
dreary-moodOE
heavyc1000
unmerryOE
droopy?c1225
mournc1275
sada1300
languishinga1325
amayedc1330
matec1330
unlightc1330
unblissful1340
lowa1382
mishappyc1390
dullc1393
elengely1393
droopinga1400
heavy-hearteda1400
joylessa1400
sytefula1400
mornifc1400
tristy?c1400
lightless?1406
heartlessa1413
tristc1420
amatec1425
languoring?c1425
mirthlessc1430
heavisome1435
darkc1440
gloomingc1440
comfortlessc1460
amateda1470
chermatc1475
tristfula1492
lustless?1507
dolorous1513
ruthful1513
downcast1521
deject1528
heartsicka1529
lumpisha1535
coolc1540
dowlyc1540
glum1547
discouraged1548
uncheerfulc1555
dumpish1560
out of heart1565
sadded1566
amoped1573
tristive1578
desolated1580
dejected1581
à la mort1586
delightless1589
afflicted1590
gladless1590
groanful1590
gloomya1593
muddy1592
sitheful1592
cloudy1594
leaden-hearted1596
disconsolated1598
clum1599
life-weary1599
spiritless1600
dusky1602
chop-fallen1604
flat1604
disanimated1605
jaw-fallen1605
moped1606
chap-fallen1608
decheerful1608
uncheerful1612
lacklustrea1616
pulled1616
dumpya1618
depressed1621
head-hung1632
grum1640
downa1644
dispirited1647
down-at-mouth1649
down in (rarely of) the mouth1649
unhearted1650
sunlessa1658
sadful1658
unlightened1659
chagrin1665
saddened1665
damp1667
moping1674
desponding1688
tristitious1694
unenjoying1697
unraised1697
unheartya1699
unked1698
despondent1699
dismal1705
unjoyful1709
unrejoiced1714
dreara1717
disheartened1720
mumpish1721
unrejoicing1726
downhearted1742
out of spirits1745
chagrineda1754
low-spirited1753
sombrea1767
black-blooded1771
glumpy1780
oorie1787
sombrous1789
morose1791
Novemberish1793
glumpish1800
mopeful1800
die-away1802
blue-devilish1804
blue-devilled1807
malagrugrous1818
down in the hip1826
yonderly1828
sunshineless1831
downfaced1832
broody1851
in a (or the) trough1856
blue-devilly1871
drooped1873
glummy1884
pippy1886
humpy1889
pipped1914
lousy1933
pissed1943
crappy1956
doomy1961
bummed1970
1521 tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Cyte of Ladyes i. ii. sig. Bbiii I was in this sorowfull thought ye heed downe cast as a shamfull persone, the eyes full of teeres.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 16 Brieflye then heere Dido, with downe cast phisnomye, parled.
1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 186 Where first the Church should raise her down-cast face.
1691 T. Sawyer Antigamus 2 How sneaking must the lesson'd School-boy stand With heavy down-cast-eye.
1718 M. Prior Power 787 With downcast eyelids, and with looks aghast.
1743 H. Fielding Jonathan Wild ii. viii, in Misc. III. 151 That down-cast Countenance which betrays the Man, who, after a strong Conflict between Virtue and Vice, hath surrendered his Mind to the latter.
1788 J. Hurdis Village Curate 14 The down-cast eye of modest worth, That shrinks at its own praise.
1810 J. Porter Sc. Chiefs V. iv. 95 He had often read in my downcast blushes the sympathy which my too severe virtue made me conceal.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. v. 174 Gordon's downcast mien did not change.
1920 H. Johnston Mrs. Warren's Daughter (U.S. ed.) xix. 365 ‘You've brought a reprieve?’ she gasped. But the Directeur and Monsieur Walcker only stood with downcast faces.
1962 P. S. Buck Bridge for Passing i. 41 Gone is the modest downcast gaze, gone the delicate reserve, gone the indirect approach to men.
1982 Master Drawings 20 240/1 The inclination of his head is in keeping with his downcast expression.
2008 Daily Tel. 15 Sept. 32/1 Arterton alternated chin-out defiance and downcast eyes.
b. figurative. Of a person, or his or her emotional state: overwhelmed by dejection, sorrow, or discouragement.
ΚΠ
1636 T. Salusbury Hist. Joseph iii. 32 Cheer up your down-cast hearts, and you shall see God makes his servants wise.
1773 Prudential Lovers II. xxiii. 50 He looked downcast; but she whispered, ‘Don't despair, leave all to Time, and you will be happy.’
1780 J. Braithwaite Let. 26 July in 1st Rep. Comm. Secrecy Causes War in Carnatic (House of Commons) App. 1, sig. U3 There are some who are very downcast; they think that we know that no French Fleet will arrive, and that they shall suffer.
1832 H. Martineau Homes Abroad iii. 43 A few looked downcast.
1849 G. Grote Hist. Greece V. ii. lx. 291 A downcast stupor and sense of abasement possessed every man.
1935 J. Lindsay Runaway 143 Felix was very downcast. He had grown used to command during the last year, and he chafed at the grimy walls of the narrow forecastle.
1997 M. Collin & J. Godfrey Altered State vi. 187 Sections of a downcast and disillusioned travelling community started to seek oblivion..as the hippie dream turned sour.
2.
a. Of a person or thing: that has been cast down; thrown to the ground; overthrown, ruined.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [adjective] > destroyed
forwroughta1325
lorna1400
destroyedc1440
perishedc1440
shentc1440
defeatc1540
spiltc1540
dissolved?1541
interempt1561
baned1568
mischievedc1570
defeated1578
ruined1585
downcast1592
gone1598
collapsed1610
to take up for hawks' meat1612
naughta1616
blasted1747
wreckeda1821
butchered1839
fucked-up1863
kaput1895
piled-up1906
shambled1940
1592 Countess of Pembroke tr. R. Garnier Antonius iii, in tr. P. de Mornay Disc. Life & Death sig. K3 A down-cast foe Can hardlie rise, which once is brought so lowe.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge v. vi. sig. K4 The downe-cast ruines of calamitie.
1691 N. Tate Poem His Majesty's Voy. to Holland 9 Downcast Lucifer revolves his State, With his fall'n Angels sits in Dark Debate, And from This Constellation bodes his Fate.
1746 M. Clancy Hermon Prince of Choræa ii. 38 Let that downcast Windfall [sc. a crown] recompense The bravest Fellow.
1840 J. G. Whittier in Brit. & Foreign Anti-slavery Reporter 25 Mar. 63/2 Like Hades, when her thrones were stirred To greet the down-cast Star of Morning!
1871 W. E. Channing Wanderer vi. 105 For slowly up, a downcast race, man trod.
1908 E. P. Johnson When George was King 3 Cards, and swords, and a lady's love, That is a tale worth reading, An insult veiled, a downcast glove, And rapiers leap unheeding.
1980 Hudson Rev. 33 208 November: never a hint of snow, But downcast leaves, temperatures, cold trek Through the dark house, bare ruin of a theater.
1999 R. Travis Allegory & Tragic Chorus in Sophocles' ‘Oedipus at Colonus’ 124 I, reigning king of Athens, am like you, downcast king of Thebes.
b. Of a thing: directed or radiating downwards.
ΚΠ
1847 W. Barnes Poems Rural Life in Dorset Dial. (ed. 2) 178 We voun' zome bushes that did fiace The downcast zunlight's highest pliace.
1896 A. T. Fisher Outdoor Life in Eng. 415 Then come the snowdrops, their graceful, downcast petals fair in white robes.
1950 T. H. Raddall Nymph & Lamp xxxiv. 303 In the downcast glow of the lamp his teeth gleamed.
2013 A. Pyper Demonologist 53 His features are underlit by the downcast light, so that his near-panic is caricatured.
B. n.2
With the and plural agreement. Disadvantaged or dejected people as a class.
ΚΠ
1638 R. Brathwait Psalmes of David v. 227 From dust the down-cast rais'd he takes, from dung the needy cleeres.
1773 Elegy upon Death Rev. T. Mair 7 in Cry Oppress. from Orwel The downcast and disconsolate, He tenderly reviv'd.
1845 M. Fuller in Star in West 13 Sept. 179/2 Blessed be he or she who passed through this world..ready to cheer the downcast, and enlighten the dull by words of comfort and looks of love.
1871 Dark Blue May 346 We might almost imagine his satanic majesty prowling about for prey among the down-cast and gloomy.
1900 School & Home Educ. Jan. 232/2 Art is a vent for emotions that saves the buoyant from buffoonery and debauchery, and the downcast from despair.
1977 S. Hangartner tr. H. Habe Palazzo x. 47 Not that Claudia didn't..have a soul, perhaps even a heart which beat for beggars, the downcast, the downtrodden, misguided and misplaced.
2016 Provincetown (Mass.) Arts 31 124/1 I carried his coat and hat into the waiting room and sat down with the downcast.
Derivatives
ˈdowncastness n. dejection.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun]
unlustOE
sorrowfulnessa1250
heavinessc1275
elengenessec1320
dullnessc1369
tristourc1380
murknessc1390
tristesse1390
faintness1398
ungladnessa1400
droopingc1400
heavity14..
dejectionc1450
terne?a1513
disconsolation1515
descence1526
marea1529
sadness?1537
dumpishness1548
unblessedness1549
dolorousness1553
ruefulness?1574
dolefulness1586
heartlessness1591
languishment1591
mopishness1598
soul-sickness1603
contristation1605
damp1606
gloominess1607
sableness1607
uncheerfulnessa1617
disconsolateness1624
cheerlessnessa1631
dejectedness1633
droopingness1635
disanimation1637
lowness1639
desponsion1641
disconsolacy1646
despondency1653
dispiritedness1654
chagrin1656
demission1656
jawfall1660
weightedness1660
depression1665
disconsolancy1665
grumness1675
despondence1676
despond1678
disheartenednessa1680
glumness1727
low1727
gloom1744
low-spiritedness1754
blue devils1756
black dog1776
humdudgeon1785
blue devilism1787
dispiritude1797
wishtnessc1800
downheartedness1801
blue-devilage1816
dispiritment1827
downcastness1827
depressiveness1832
dolorosity1835
lugubriosity1840
disconsolance1847
down1856
heavy-heartedness1860
lugubriousness1879
sullenness1885
low key1886
melancholia1896
burn-out1903
mokus1924
downness1927
mopiness1927
deflation1933
wallow1934
1827 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 610 Your griefs to soothe, your downcastness to cheer.
1906 G. Matheson Rests by River xci. 312 The mystery lay in the fact that his depression was not merely a downcastness but a casting down.
1980 P. Shaffer Amadeus ii. xx. 120 In the depth of your downcastness, you can pray to Me... And I will forgive you.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
downcastv.
/ˈdaʊnkɑːst/, /ˈdaʊnkast/, U.S. /ˈdaʊnˌkæst/ΚΠ
c1390 W. Hilton Expos. Qui habitat & Bonum Est (1954) 1 No mon schulde ouur-taken of him-self be fals sikernes on þat on syde, Ne on þat oþer syde douncasten him-self be veyn drede of his oune feyntnes.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 7508 Ihesu..he sagh weyl hys [sc. St Benet's] grete temptyng; Þogh he suffred hym weyl be to-blaste, he suffred hym nat be dowun kaste.
R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 101 (MED) Þere pride & play in fals bewte in-to fylth sal be custyn, qwen þai in-to tormentis ar downcast.
?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. D.ivv Great Alexander by fortune, was downe cast One draught of poyson hym fylled at the last.
1613 Bp. W. Cowper Holy Alphabet 176 All the children of God giue glory to God, by downe-casting themselues... They who haue beene greatest in Gods estimation, haue beene alway smallest in their owne eyes.
2. transitive. To drop, throw, or lower (something) in a downward direction; to demolish (a building).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > throw down
to throw adownc1275
downcastc1390
dejectc1420
cast1481
to cast down1535
terre1586
to throw down1714
c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) l. 1337 He was abated of his tour, For Godes godhede him haþ doun cast Into helle.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) lxxiii. 7 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 206 In ax and in thixil þai ite dounecaste.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 175 (MED) He toke the Cite..and the wallis therof he did down caste.
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. (1587) ii. 146 No inhabitant of the Town should be troubled for..the late mutation of Religion and abolishment of Idolatrie, and for down-casting the places of the same.
1620 in R. S. Mylne Master Masons to Crown of Scotl. (1893) 110 Demolische and doun cast the auld kirk of Falkland and red the ground thereof.
1839 H. W. Longfellow Mass for Dying Year in Knickerbocker Oct. 331 The stars from heaven down-cast.
1876 W. Morris tr. Virgil Æneids ix. 269 Jupiter, fierce with the southern blasts, Breaks up the hollow clouds of heaven and watery whirl downcasts.
1904 J. Rhoades Little Flowers St. Francis of Assisi xxxix. 223 The aforesaid heretics..did all Down-cast them at his feet, to hear the word Spoke by Saint Anthony.
1968 H. Tarr Heaven help Us! (1969) 49 I feared flunking out of school for downcasting my eyes at an improper angle.
2016 Hobart (Tasmania) Mercury (Nexis) 3 Aug. (Style section) 33 The reserved, softly spoken..director becomes despondent and downcasts her eyes as she talks about how disillusioned she is with youth of today.
3. transitive. To bring (a person) into a state of dejection or low spirits.
ΚΠ
1914 B. White Carpenter & Rich Man xix. 315 Prosperity could not elate nor reverses downcast them.
1968 Times 24 Jan. 13/5 An off-key trumpeter on the touchline played the Last Post, by way of downcasting U.C.H. still further and reminding the Middlesex of their position.
1994 W. Riviere Eros & Psyche (1995) iii. 118 It was a thought to downcast the most besotted and loyal of followers.
Derivatives
downˈcasting n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > overthrow of a person, institution, belief, etc.
fallOE
confusionc1290
subversiona1325
overthrowingc1330
overturninga1398
downcasta1400
wrackc1400
downcastingc1425
eversionc1425
profligationc1475
demolitionc1550
overturec1555
wreck1577
overturnc1592
racking?1689
upsetting1827
subversal1843
demolishment1884
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 9 By a cruell downecastyng.
1623 A. Simson Sacred Septenarie 20 He seemeth to oppose his great deiection and down-casting to the proud pertinacie of many, who striue so against God, that none of his rods can humble them.
a1780 J. Macgowan Disc. Bk. Ruth (1781) ii. 45 The day of downcasting, disgrace and penury everlasting, is making hasty marches towards his present dwelling.
1910 J. A. Mackereth Son of Cain 31 We are cinctured all With love, assured against all death's downcasting.
1990 J. C. Oates Because it is Bitter (1991) iii. 334 The habitual downcasting of his eyes that was seemingly a sort of tic with him.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1a1400adj.n.21521v.c1390