forecast

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfɔːkɑːst/ (UK); /ˈfɔɹkæst/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English forcasten, formed from fore-, before, and casten, to contrive, plan (see cast).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To scheme, contrive beforehand: forecasting about 1400 and the verb 1413 in Barnhart;^[3] the late 14th century in Etymonline, 1388 in the OED.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

To predict events is first attested in the late 15th century (1494).^[2][5] The noun, forethought, prudence, is from about 1422 (the early 15th century), probably from the verb,^[3][2] and a conjectural estimate of the future from the 1670s.^[2][5] A Middle English word for weather forecasting, and for divination from the clouds, was aeromancy.^[2] Fowler (1926) argued that since the verb is recorded 150 years before the noun, the past tense should be forecast, not forecasted.^[2]

Timeline

• 1388 – to scheme.^[5]
• c. 1422 – forethought (noun).^[3]
• 1494 – to predict.^[5]
• 1670s – a prediction.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To estimate or predict in advance, especially the weather.
2. To be an early sign of; to foreshadow.

Noun

1. A prediction of future events or conditions, especially of the weather.

Word family

• forecastable
• forecaster
• backcast
• reforecast
• unforecast
• weathercast

Related words

• cast
• foresee

Usage notes

Both forecast and forecasted are used as the past tense, and Fowler preferred forecast.^[2]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press