recast

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + cast,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the noun from re- and the noun cast, after the earlier verb.^[2] The Shorter Oxford takes the sense "to cast metal again, refashion" as modelled on French refondre.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To throw or cast again: 1585, in T. Bilson's True Difference.^[2][5] Etymonline dates the word to about 1600.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was the literal one, to throw again, which Merriam-Webster Unabridged still records, especially of making a second cast with a fishing line.^[2][5] From 1625 the verb was used in the founder's sense, to cast metal again into a new shape, and figuratively.^[2] Weekley explains the modern literary sense as a metaphor from metal-founding:^[8] from 1790 it meant to remodel or reorganize something, especially a piece of writing, a sentence or a policy.^[2][3] A rare sense "to compute again" is recorded from 1725 in Defoe,^[2] though Etymonline dates it only to 1865.^[3] In the theatre, to recast is to give a part to another actor or to change the cast of a production, from 1923 in the OED and 1951 in Etymonline,^[2][3] and since 1965 a person can recast himself or herself in a new role or image.^[2][9] The noun, a new version produced by recasting, is first found in a letter of Byron's in 1812, and the act of recasting from 1841, in De Quincey.^[2] Etymonline dates the noun to 1840.^[3]

Timeline

• 1585 – to throw or cast again.^[2][5] Etymonline dates it to about 1600.^[3]
• 1625 – to cast metal or the like again, into a new shape.^[2]
• 1725 – to compute again, recalculate (rare).^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1865.^[3]
• 1790 – to remodel, put into a new form, especially of a text.^[2][3]
• 1812 – noun, a new version produced by recasting, in Byron.^[2]
• 1816 – adjective, cast again.^[2]
• 1841 – noun, the act of recasting.^[2]
• 1923 – to give a part to another actor, or to change the cast of a play.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1951.^[3]
• 1965 – to give a person a new role or image.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give a new form, shape or arrangement to; to remodel or refashion: The editor asked her to recast the opening chapter.^[9][5][2]
2. To give a part in a play or film to a different actor, or to choose new actors for a production.^[9][2]
3. To present a person or thing in a new role or character: The party tried to recast itself as the voice of small business.^[9][2]
4. To cast metal or another material again in a mould; to remould.^[5][2]
5. To throw again, especially to make a second cast with a fishing line.^[5][2]
6. (rare) To compute again; to recalculate.^[5][2]

Noun

1. The act of recasting something.^[5][2]
2. Something produced by recasting; a new form or version.^[5][2]

Word family

• recaster

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins