Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1770, 1932-1947
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0]
ONCAST, n., v. Also on-kast (Jak.).
I. n. 1. The first row of loops in knitting, the casting on of a row of loops (Ayr. 1880 Jam.; I.Sc., Ags., Arg. 1964).
2. A sudden attack of illness or of some misfortune, supposedly from supernatural causes (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Sh. 1964).Sh. 1932 J. M. E. Saxby Trad. Lore 175:
The Oncast is that terrible look with which a witch freezes the life-blood of some one she hates.Sh. 1947 New Shetlander (June–July) 2:
An oncast is a plague or visitation from above or below.
3. In mining: coal in situ, which still has to be hewn from its seam.m.Lth. 1770 Session Papers, State of Process, Henry v. Clark 30:
That what he means by the oncast three fathom distance, is the coal which remained to be wrought off up to the through-strike.
II. v. To begin knitting by casting on a row of stitches (Ayr. 1880 Jam.; Ork. 1964).
[ON-, pref.1, + Cast, v.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Oncast n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/oncast>
