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.

Translations

covered with clouds; overshadowed; darkened

• 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)
• German: bedeckt (de), bewölkt (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: 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 French: kouvær, kouvè, kouvèr
• Malay: mendung (ms)
• Manchu: ᡨᡠᠯᡥᡠᠨ (tulhun)
• Maori: 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)
• Sundanese: haleungheum
• Swedish: mulen (sv), mulet (sv)
• Turkish: bulutlu (tr)
• Ukrainian: хма́рний m (xmárnyj), похмурий (poxmuryj)
• 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)
• Swedish: mulen (sv)
• 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)

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.

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)

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)

References

• “overcast”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “overcast”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• overacts