overcast

English

Etymology

From Middle English overcasten, equivalent to over- +‎ cast. Compare Swedish överkast.

Pronunciation

Adjective and noun

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ōʹvə-käst', IPA^(key): /ˈəʊvəˌkɑːst/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (General American) enPR: ōʹvər-kăst', IPA^(key): /ˈoʊvɚ.kæst/

Verb

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ō'və-kästʹ, IPA^(key): /ˌəʊvəˈkɑːst/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) enPR: ō'vər-kăstʹ, IPA^(key): /ˌoʊvɚˈkæst/
• Rhymes: -ɑːst

Noun

overcast (plural overcasts)

1. A cloud covering all of the sky from horizon to horizon.
2. (obsolete) An outcast.
3. (mining) A place where one roadway crosses another, specifically where an airway was built across the top of another airway for ventilation purposes.

Adjective

overcast (comparative more overcast, superlative most overcast)

1. Covered with clouds; overshadowed; darkened; (meteorology) more than 90% covered by clouds.
   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:

     The Dawn is over-caſt, the Morning low’rs,
     And heavily in Clouds brings on the Day, […]

2. (figuratively) In a state of depression; gloomy; melancholy.

Derived terms

• overcastness

Translations

covered with clouds; overshadowed; darkened

• Bidayuh:

  Bau Bidayuh: bidondom

• Bulgarian: заоблачен (bg) (zaoblačen)
• Catalan: cobert (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰沉 / 阴沉 (zh) (yīnchén), 灰濛蒙 / 灰蒙蒙 (huīmēngmēng), 低沉 (zh) (dīchén)

• Dutch: betrokken (nl), bewolkt (nl)
• Finnish: pilvinen (fi), synkkä (fi)
• French: nuageux (fr), couvert (fr)
• Galician: cuberto (gl)
• Georgian: მოღრუბლული (moɣrubluli), ღრუბლიანი (ɣrubliani)
• German: bedeckt (de), bewölkt (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: συννεφής (sunnephḗs)

  Ancient Greek: ἐπινέφελος (epinéphelos)

• Hungarian: felhős (hu)
• Icelandic: þungbúinn
• Indonesian: mendung (id)
• Irish: duibheagánach, modartha
• Italian: coperto (it) m, nuvoloso (it) m
• Japanese: どんよりした (ja) (donyori shita)
• Khmer: មេឃមីរ (meikmii)
• Latin: nūbilus
• Louisiana Creole: kouvær, kouvè, kouvèr
• Malay: mendung (ms)
• Manchu: ᡨᡠᠯᡥᡠᠨ (tulhun)
• Māori: whakaipuipu, pōkino, taupuru, kōwhanga, tāpuru, taupuru, kēkēao
• Navajo: kʼostʼą́ʼí
• Norman: couvaert
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: overskyet (no), overskya

  Nynorsk: overskya

• Polish: pochmurny (pl)
• Portuguese: nublado (pt)
• Russian: о́блачный (ru) (óblačnyj), па́смурный (ru) (pásmurnyj)
• Spanish: nublado (es), nubloso, anubarrado, anubado, nublo (es), nuboso (es)
• Sundanese: haleungheum
• Swedish: mulen (sv), mulet (sv)
• Tamil: மூடம் (ta) (mūṭam), மூட்டம் (ta) (mūṭṭam), மேகமூட்டம் (ta) (mēkamūṭṭam), மோடம் (ta) (mōṭam)
• Turkish: bulutlu (tr)
• Ukrainian: хма́рний m (xmárnyj), похмурий (poxmuryj)
• Uzbek: bulutli (uz)
• Vietnamese: âm u (vi), u ám (vi), phủ mây

meteorological term

• Catalan: cobert (ca)
• Dutch: bewolkt (nl)
• Esperanto: nuboplena
• Finnish: pilvinen (fi)
• French: couvert (fr)
• German: bewölkt (de)
• Hungarian: borult (hu)
• Irish: smúitiúil, scamallach, modartha
• Italian: coperto (it) m
• Polish: zachmurzony (pl)
• Portuguese: encoberto (pt)
• Spanish: cubierto (es)
• Swedish: mulen (sv)
• Tamil: மேகமூட்டம் (ta) (mēkamūṭṭam)
• Welsh: cymylog (cy)

in a state of depression; gloomy; melancholy

• Bulgarian: мрачен (bg) (mračen), меланхоличен (bg) (melanholičen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰沉 / 阴沉 (zh) (yīnchén), 低沉 (zh) (dīchén)

• Dutch: neerslachtig (nl)
• Finnish: synkkä (fi)
• Hungarian: borús (hu)
• Russian: угрю́мый (ru) (ugrjúmyj), мра́чный (ru) (mráčnyj), хму́рый (ru) (xmúryj)
• Swedish: mulen (sv)

Verb

overcast (third-person singular simple present overcasts, present participle overcasting, simple past and past participle overcast or (common, but sometimes proscribed) overcasted)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To overthrow.
2. (transitive) To cover with cloud; to overshadow; to darken.
3. (transitive) To make gloomy; to depress.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To be or become cloudy.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To transform.
6. (transitive, bookbinding) To fasten (sheets) by overcast stitching or by folding one edge over another.
7. (transitive) This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
   • 1919 January, Reclamation Record, volume 10, number 1, page 22:

     Old stocking tops folded make good kitchen holders. The edges should be overcast or loosely buttonholed.

Derived terms

• overcaster
• overcastness

Translations

to cover with cloud; to overshadow; to darken

• Bulgarian: притъмнявам (bg) (pritǎmnjavam)
• Dutch: bewolken (nl), verduisteren (nl)
• Finnish: peittää pilveen
• Galician: nubrar (gl), anubrar (gl)
• Portuguese: nublar (pt)
• Spanish: nublar (es), encapotar (es)
• Tamil: மூடு (ta) (mūṭu), கரு (ta) (karu)

to be or become cloudy

• Bulgarian: заоблачавам се (zaoblačavam se)
• Dutch: bewolkt zijn
• Finnish: olla pilvistä (to be cloudy), pilvistyä (fi) (to become cloudy)
• Hungarian: beborul (hu)
• Manchu: ᡨᡠᠯᡥᡠᡧᡝᠮᠪᡳ (tulhušembi)
• Tamil: வானம் கருத்தல் (vāṉam karuttal), மேகமூட்டம் ஆதல் (mēkamūṭṭam ātal)

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “overcast”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “overcast”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• overacts