*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -cast

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Forming words for audiovisual content distributed to an audience, usually in a manner denoted by the word stem.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast English broadcast English -cast Back-formation from broadcast.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "broadcast<id:distribute widely>",
        "id": "audiovisual",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.?\nProto-Germanic *braidaz\nProto-West Germanic *braid\nOld English brād\nMiddle English brod\nEnglish broad\nProto-Germanic *kas-\nProto-Germanic *kastōną\nOld Norse kastabor.\nMiddle English casten\nEnglish cast\nEnglish broadcast\nEnglish -cast\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"bear\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰer-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*braidaz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*braid\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"brād\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"brod\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"broad\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"distribute\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"throw\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"throw\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"throw\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"throw\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kas-\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kastōną\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old Norse\", \"term\" : \"kasta\", \"lang\" : \"non\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"casten\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"cast\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"broadcast\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-cast\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"audiovisual\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-cast\" id=\"English:_audiovisual\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "back-form",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "broadcast"
      },
      "expansion": "Back-formation from broadcast"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "broadcast<id:distribute widely>",
        "id": "audiovisual",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.?\nProto-Germanic *braidaz\nProto-West Germanic *braid\nOld English brād\nMiddle English brod\nEnglish broad\nProto-Germanic *kas-\nProto-Germanic *kastōną\nOld Norse kastabor.\nMiddle English casten\nEnglish cast\nEnglish broadcast\nEnglish -cast"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*bʰer-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰer-#Proto-Indo-European:_bear"
    ],
    [
      "*braidaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/braidaz#Proto-Germanic:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "*braid",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/braid#Proto-West_Germanic:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "brād",
      "brad#Old_English:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "brod",
      "brod#Middle_English:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "broad",
      "broad#English:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "*kas-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kas-#Proto-Germanic:_throw"
    ],
    [
      "*kastōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kastōną#Proto-Germanic:_throw"
    ],
    [
      "kasta",
      "kasta#Old_Norse:_throw"
    ],
    [
      "casten",
      "casten#Middle_English:_throw"
    ],
    [
      "cast",
      "cast#English:_distribute"
    ],
    [
      "broadcast",
      "broadcast#English:_distribute_widely"
    ],
    [
      "broadcast",
      "broadcast#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Forming words for audiovisual content distributed to an audience, usually in a manner denoted by the word stem."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "105447562582fb94708c631653c307e091fbf470bce1e7910ed742733edeca1d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "cb32b4a116be4034e0cb32d34edd9c87d376c54e45d28c86a30d441f2065092e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 7523359
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -cast →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWNhc3Q