Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CAST'ING-VOTE, or CAST'ING-VOICE, n.

The vote of a presiding officer, in an assembly or council, which decides a question, when the voters of the assembly or house are equally divided between the affirmative and negative. [United States.] – Coxe. When there was an equal vote, the Governor had the casting voice. – B. Trumbull.

CAS'TLE, n. [kas'l; Sax. castel; L. castellum, from castrum; D. kasteel; Arm. gastell; Norm. chaxtel; Fr. château; Port. castello; It. id.; W. cast, envelopment, from câs, a being separated or insulated, hatred, envy, a castle; castell, a castle, whence castellu, to surround; casul, a cloke, a chasuble. The Welch câs gives the primary sense, which is to separate, to drive off; hence, to defend. It is probably from this root the Latins had casa. We observe in the Welch, câs signifies, separated, a castle, and hatred, envy; also, hateful, odious; and casnawr, a hater, a persecutor; casnori, to persecute, to chase. Hence we see the radical sense of hatred is a driving off.]

1. A house fortified for defense against an enemy; a fortress. The term seems to include the house and the walls or other works around it. In old writers, the word is used for a town or village fortified.
2. The house or mansion of a nobleman or prince.
3. In a ship, there are two parts called by this name; the forecastle, a short deck in the fore part of a ship, above the upper deck; and the hindcastle, at the stern. Castle in the air, a visionary project; a scheme that has no solid foundation.

CAS'TLE, v.t.

In the game of chess, to cover the king with a castle, by a certain move. – Encyc.

CAS'TLE-BUILD-ER, n.

One who forms visionary schemes.

CAS'TLE-BUILD-ING, n.

The act of building castles in the air.

CAS'TLE-CROWN-ED, a.

Crowned with a castle.

CAS'TLED, a.

Furnished with castles; as, a castled elephant.

CAS'TLE-GUARD, n.

A feudal tenure, or knight service, which obliged the tenant to perform service within the realm, without limitation of time. – Lyttelton.

CAS'TLE-RY, n.

The government of a castle. – Blount.

CAS'TLET, n.

A small castle. – Leland.

CAS'TLE-WARD, n.

An imposition laid upon subjects dwelling within a certain distance of a castle, for the purpose of maintaining watch and ward in the castle. – Encyc.

CAST'LING, n.

An abortion or abortive. – Brown.

CAS'TOR, n. [L. castor; Fr. Sp. and Port, id.; Gr. καστωρ. See Ar. Class Gs, No. 42.]

1. A beaver, an amphibious quadruped, with a flat ovate tail, short ears, a blunt nose, small fore feet, and large hind feet.
2. A reddish brown substance, of a strong penetrating smell, taken from bags or cods in the groin of the beaver, a powerful antispasmodic. – Nicholson.
3. In astronomy, a moiety of the constellation Gemini, called also Apollo. Castor and Pollux, in meteorology, a fiery meteor, which, at sea, appear sometimes adhering to a part of a ship, in the form of one, two, and even three or four balls. When one is seen alone, it is called Helena, which portends that the severest part of the storm is yet to come. Two appearing at once are denominated Castor and Pollux, or Tyndaridæ, and portend a cessation of the storm. – Chambers.

CAS-TO'RE-UM, n.

The inguinal gland of the beaver.

CAS'TO-RIN, or CAS'TO-RINE, n.

An animal principle discovered in castor, and prepared by boiling castor in six times its weight of alcohol, and filtering the liquor. From this is deposited the Castorin. – Brande.

CAS'TOR-OIL, n. [A corruption of Castus oil, the plant producing it having formerly been called Agnus castus.]

The oil of the Ricinus communis, or Palma Christi, a plant of the West Indies, which grows to the highth of twenty feet in one season. The oil is obtained from the nuts or seeds by expression or decoction. That obtained by decoction is preferred, as less liable to become rancid, being free from the mucilage and acrid matter, which is mixed with the oil when expressed. It is a mild cathartic. – Encyc.

CAS-TRA-ME-TA'TION, n. [L. castrametor, to encamp, castra, camp, and metior, to measure or survey.]

The art or act of encamping; the marking or laying out of camp. – Murphy's Tacitus.

CAS'TRATE, v.t. [L. castro; F. châtrer, for chastrer; Sp. and Port. castrar; It. castrare; Ar. خَضَي gatsai; Eth. ኀጸወ to castrate; Ch. חעא, to cut out or off. Class Gs, No. 41, 42.]

1. To geld; to deprive of the testicles; to emasculate.
2. To take away or retrench, as the obscene parts of a writing.
3. To take out a leaf or sheet from a book, and render it imperfect.

CAS'TRA-TED, pp.

Gelded; emasculated; purified from obscene expressions.

CAS'TRA-TING, ppr.

Gelding; taking away the obscene parts of a writing.

CAS'TRA-TION, n.

The act of gelding; the act or practice of making eunuchs; the act of taking away the obscene parts of a writing; the act of taking out a leaf or sheet of a book. In botany, the cutting off of the anthers, or tops of the stamens of flowers, before the ripening of the pollen.

CAS'TRA-TO, n. [It. See Castrate.]

A male person emasculated for the purpose of improving his voice for a singer. – Swift.

CAS'TREL, or KES'TREL, n.

A kind of hawk, resembling the lanner in shape and the hobby in size.

CAS-TREN'SIAN, a. [L. castrensis, from castra, a camp.]

Belonging to a camp.

CAS'U-AL, a. [cazh'ual; Fr. casuel; Sp. and Port. casual; It. casuale; from L. casus, a fall. See Case and Accident.]

1. Falling; happening or coming to pass, without design in the person or persons affected, and without being foreseen, or expected; accidental; fortuitous; coming by chance; as, the parties had a casual encounter.
2. Occasional; coming at certain times, without regularity, in distinction from stated, or regular; as, casual expenses.
3. Taking place, or beginning to exist without an efficient intelligent cause, and without design. Atheists assert that the existence of things is casual. – Dwight.