Castilian Cas·til"ian noun [ Spanish castellano , from Castila , New Latin Castilia , Castella . Castile, which received its name from the castles erected on the frontiers as a barrier against the Moors.] 1. An inhabitant or native of Castile, in Spain.

2. The Spanish language as spoken in Castile.

Castillan Cas·til"lan adjective Of or pertaining to Castile, in Spain.

Casting Cast"ing noun 1. The act of one who casts or throws, as in fishing.

2. The act or process of making casts or impressions, or of shaping metal or plaster in a mold; the act or the process of pouring molten metal into a mold.

3. That which is cast in a mold; esp. the mass of metal so cast; as, a casting in iron; bronze casting .

4. The warping of a board. Brande & C.

5. The act of casting off, or that which is cast off, as skin, feathers, excrement, etc.

Casting of draperies , the proper distribution of the folds of garments, in painting and sculpture. -- Casting line (Fishing) , the leader; also, sometimes applied to the long reel line. -- Casting net , a net which is cast and drawn, in distinction from a net that is set and left. -- Casting voice , Casting vote , the decisive vote of a presiding officer, when the votes of the assembly or house are equally divided. "When there was an equal vote, the governor had the casting voice ." B. Trumbull. -- Casting weight , a weight that turns a balance when exactly poised.

Castle Cas"tle noun [ Anglo-Saxon castel , from Latin castellum , dim. of castrum a fortified place, castle.] 1. A fortified residence, especially that of a prince or nobleman; a fortress.

The house of every one is to him castle and fortress, as well for his defense againts injury and violence, as for his repose.
Coke.

Our castle's strength
Will laugh a siege to scorn.
Shak.

» Originally the mediæval castle was a single strong tower or keep, with a palisaded inclosure around it and inferior buidings, such as stables and the like, and surrounded by a moat; then such a keep or donjon, with courtyards or baileys and accessory buildings of greater elaboration a great hall and a chapel, all surrounded by defensive walls and a moat, with a drawbridge, etc. Afterwards the name was retained by large dwellings that had formerly been fortresses, or by those which replaced ancient fortresses.

A Donjon or Keep, an irregular building containing the dwelling of the lord and his family; B C Large round towers ferming part of the donjon and of the exterior; D Square tower, separating the two inner courts and forming part of the donjon; E Chapel, whose apse forms a half-round tower, F , on the exterior walls; G H Round towers on the exterior walls; K Postern gate, reached from outside by a removable fight of steps or inclined plane for hoisting in stores, and leading to a court, L (see small digagram) whose pavement is on a level with the sill of the postern, but below the level of the larger court, with which it communicates by a separately fortified gateway; M Turret, containing spiral stairway to all the stories of the great tower, B , and serving also as a station for signal fire, banner, etc.; N Turret with stairway for tower, C ; O Echauguettes; P P P Battlemants consisting of merlons and crenels alternately, the merlons being pierced by loopholes; Q Q Machicolations (those at Q defend the postern K ); R Outwork defending the approach, which is a road ascending the hill and passing under all four faces of the castle; S S Wall of the outer bailey. The road of approach enters the bailey at T and passes thence into the castle by the main entrance gateway (which is in the wall between, and defended by the towers, C H ) and over two drawbridges and through fortified passages to the inner court.

2. Any strong, imposing, and stately mansion.

3. A small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back.

4. A piece, made to represent a castle, used in the game of chess; a rook.

Castle in the air , a visionary project; a baseless scheme; an air castle; -- sometimes called a castle in Spain (F. Château en Espagne ).

Syn. -- Fortress; fortification; citadel; stronghold. See Fortress .

Castle Cas"tle intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Castled ; present participle & verbal noun Castling .] (Chess) To move the castle to the square next to king, and then the king around the castle to the square next beyond it, for the purpose of covering the king.

Castle-guard Cas"tle-guard` noun 1. The guard or defense of a castle.

2. (O. Eng. Law) A tax or imposition an a dwelling within a certain distance of a castle, for the purpose of maintaining watch and ward in it; castle- ward.

3. A feudal tenure, obliging the tenant to perform service within the realm, without limitation of time.

Castlebuilder Cas"tle·build`er noun Fig.: one who builds castles in the air or forms visionary schemes.

-- Cas"tle*build`ing , noun

Castled Cas"tled adjective Having a castle or castles; supporting a castle; as, a castled height or crag.

2. Fortified; turreted; as, castled walls.

Castlery Cas"tle·ry noun [ Confer Old French castelerie . See Castle .] The government of a castle. Blount.

Castlet Cas"tlet noun A small castle. Leland.

Castleward Cas"tle·ward` noun Same as Castleguard .

Castling Cast"ling noun That which is cast or brought forth prematurely; an abortion. Sir T. Browne.

Castling Cas"tling noun (Chess) A compound move of the king and castle. See Castle , intransitive verb

Castor Cas"tor noun [ Latin castor the beaver, Greek ...; of uncertain origin.] 1. (Zoology) A genus of rodents, including the beaver. See Beaver .

2. Castoreum. See Castoreum .

3. A hat, esp. one made of beaver fur; a beaver.

I have always been known for the jaunty manner in which I wear my castor .
Sir W. Scott.

4. A heavy quality of broadcloth for overcoats.

Castor Cast"or noun See Caster , a small wheel.

Castor Cas"tor noun [ Latin ] (Astron.) the northernmost of the two bright stars in the constellation Gemini, the other being Pollux.

Castor and Pollux Cas"tor and Pol"lux [ Castor and Pollux were twin sons of Jupiter and Leda.] (Nautical) See Saint Elmo's fire , under Saint .

Castor bean Cas"tor bean` (Botany) The bean or seed of the castor-oil plant ( Ricinus communis , or Palma Christi .)

Castor oil Cas"tor oil (kăs"tẽr oil`). A mild cathartic oil, expressed or extracted from the seeds of the Ricinus communis , or Palma Christi . When fresh the oil is inodorous and insipid.

Castor-oil plant . Same as Palma Christi .

Castor, Castorite Cas"tor, Cas"tor·ite noun [ The minerals castor and pollux were so named because found together on the island of Elba. See Castor and Pollux .] (Min.) A variety of the mineral called petalite, from Elba.

Castoreum Cas·to"re·um noun [ Latin See Castor .] A peculiar bitter orange-brown substance, with strong, penetrating odor, found in two sacs between the anus and external genitals of the beaver; castor; -- used in medicine as an antispasmodic, and by perfumers.

Castorin Cas"to·rin (kăs"to*rĭn) noun [ From 1st Castor .] (Chemistry) A white crystalline substance obtained from castoreum.

Castrametation Cas`tra·me·ta"tion noun [ French castramétation , from Latin castra camp + metari to measure off, from meta limit.] (Mil.) The art or act of encamping; the making or laying out of a camp.

Castrate Cas"trate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Castrated ; present participle & verbal noun Castrating .] [ Latin castrarus , p; p. of castrare to castrate, asin to Sanskrit çastra knife.] 1. To deprive of the testicles; to emasculate; to geld; to alter.

2. To cut or take out; esp. to remove anything erroneous, or objectionable from, as the obscene parts of a writing; to expurgate.

My . . . correspondent . . . has sent me the following letter, which I have castrated in some places.
Spectator.

Castration Cas·tra"tion noun [ Latin castratio ; confer French castration .] The act of castrating.

Castrato Cas·tra"to noun [ Latin , properly past participle of castrare . See Castrate .] A male person castrated for the purpose of improving his voice for singing; an artificial, or male, soprano. Swift.

Castrel Cas"trel noun [ Confer French crécerelle , cristel , Old French crecel , cercele . Confer Kestrel .] (Zoology) See Kestrel .

Castrensial Cas·tren"sial adjective [ Latin castrensis , from castra camp.] Belonging to a camp. Sir T. Browne.

Castrensian Cas·tren"sian adjective Castrensial. [ R.]

Casual Cas"u·al adjective [ Middle English casuel , French casuel , from Latin casualis , from casus fall, accident, from cadere to fall. See Case .] 1. Happening or coming to pass without design, and without being foreseen or expected; accidental; fortuitous; coming by chance.

Casual breaks, in the general system.
W. Irving.

2. Coming without regularity; occasional; incidental; as, casual expenses.

A constant habit, rather than a casual gesture.
Hawthorne.

Syn. -- Accidental; fortutious; incidental; occasional; contingent; unforeseen. See Accidental .

Casual Cas"u·al noun One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.

Casualism Cas"u·al·ism noun The doctrine that all things exist or are controlled by chance.

Casualist Cas"u·al·ist noun One who believes in casualism.

Casually Cas"u·al·ly adverb Without design; accidentally; fortuitously; by chance; occasionally.

Casualness Cas"u·al·ness noun The quality of being casual.

Casualty Cas"u·al·ty noun ; plural Casualties . [ French casualité , Late Latin casualitas .] 1. That which comes without design or without being foreseen; contingency.

Losses that befall them by mere casualty .
Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Any injury of the body from accident; hence, death, or other misfortune, occasioned by an accident; as, an unhappy casualty .

3. plural (Mil. & Naval) Numerical loss caused by death, wounds, discharge, or desertion.

Casualty ward , A ward in a hospital devoted to the treatment of injuries received by accident.

Syn. -- Accident; contingency; fortuity; misfortune.

Casuarina Cas`u·a·ri"na noun [ New Latin , supposed to be named from the resemblance of the twigs to the feathers of the cassowary, of the genus Casuarius .] (Botany) A genus of leafless trees or shrubs, with drooping branchlets of a rushlike appearance, mostly natives of Australia. Some of them are large, producing hard and heavy timber of excellent quality, called beefwood from its color.

Casuist Cas"u·ist noun [ Latin casus fall, case; confer French casuiste . See Casual .] One who is skilled in, or given to, casuistry.

The judment of any casuist or learned divine concerning the state of a man's soul, is not sufficient to give him confidence.
South.

Casuist Cas"u·ist intransitive verb To play the casuist. Milton.

Casuistic, Casuistical Cas`u·is"tic, Cas`u·is"tic·al adjective Of or pertaining to casuists or casuistry.

Casuistry Cas"u·ist·ry adjective 1. The science or doctrine of dealing with cases of conscience, of resolving questions of right or wrong in conduct, or determining the lawfulness or unlawfulness of what a man may do by rules and principles drawn from the Scriptures, from the laws of society or the church, or from equity and natural reason; the application of general moral rules to particular cases.

The consideration of these nice and puzzling question in the science of ethics has given rise, in modern times, to a particular department of it, distinguished by the title of casuistry .
Stewart.

Casuistry in the science of cases (i.e., oblique deflections from the general rule).
De Quincey.

2. Sophistical, equivocal, or false reasoning or teaching in regard to duties, obligations, and morals.

Casus Ca"sus noun [ Latin ] An event; an occurrence; an occasion; a combination of circumstances; a case; an act of God. See the Note under Accident .

Casus belli , an event or combination of events which is a cause war, or may be alleged as a justification of war. -- Casus fortuitus , an accident against which due prudence could not have provided. See Act of God , under Act . -- Casus omissus , a case not provided for by the statute.

Cat Cat (kăt) noun [ Anglo-Saxon cat ; akin to D. & Danish kat , Swedish katt , Icelandic köttr , German katze , kater , Ir. cat , W. cath , Armor. kaz , Late Latin catus , Bisc. catua , NGr. ga`ta , ga`tos , Russian & Pol. kot , Turk. kedi , Arabic qitt ; of unknown origin. Confer Kitten .] 1. (Zoology) An animal of various species of the genera Felis and Lynx . The domestic cat is Felis domestica . The European wild cat ( Felis catus ) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx ( Lynx rufus ) See Wild cat , and Tiger cat .

» The domestic cat includes many varieties named from their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the Angora cat ; the Maltese cat ; the Manx cat .

The word cat is also used to designate other animals, from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat , fisher cat , cat bird, cat fish shark, sea cat .

2. (Nautical) (a) A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal and timber trade. (b) A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the cathead of a ship. Totten.

3. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.

4. An old game; (a) The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is played. See Tipcat . (c) A game of ball, called, according to the number of batters, one old cat , two old cat , etc.

5. A cat o' nine tails. See below.

Angora cat , blind cat , See under Angora , Blind . -- Black cat the fisher. See under Black . -- Cat and dog , like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonious. "I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it." Coleridge. -- Cat block (Nautical) , a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead. -- Cat hook (Nautical) , a strong hook attached to a cat block. - - Cat nap , a very short sleep. [ Colloq.] -- Cat o' nine tails , an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back. -- Cat's cradle , game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch , Cratch cradle . -- To let the cat out of the bag , to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. [ Colloq.] -- Bush cat , the serval. See Serval .

Cat Cat transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle tted ; present participle & verbal noun Catting .] (Nautical) To bring to the cathead; as, to cat an anchor. See Anchor . Totten.

Cat o' nine tails Cat" o' nine" tails` See under Cat .

Cat-eyed Cat"-eyed` adjective Having eyes like a cat; hence, able to see in the dark.

Cat-harpin Cat"-harp`in noun See Cat-harping .

Cat-harping Cat"-harp`ing noun (Nautical) One of the short ropes or iron cramps used to brace in the shrouds toward the masts so a to give freer sweep to the yards.

Cat-hole Cat"-hole` (kăt"hōl`) noun (Nautical) One of two small holes astern, above the gunroom ports, through which hawsers may be passed.

Cat-rigged Cat"-rigged` adjective Rigged like a catboat.

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