umbecast

U1M3B3E1C3A1S1T1
/ˌʌmbəˈkæst//ˌʌmbəˈkɑːst/

verb

To cast about; make a circuit; travel around (a place).

OriginMiddle English umbecasten →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

verbumbecast (third-person singular simple present umbecasts, present participle umbecasting, simple past and past participle umbecast)

present singular third person umbecasts · participle present umbecasting

  1. dialectalintransitiveobsoletetransitiveTo cast about; make a circuit; travel around (a place).
  2. dialectalintransitiveobsoletetransitiveTo consider, ponder.
  3. To hunt, search for the spoor, explore, seek, sniff around.

    […]and the dog came after, and umbecast about, for she had lost the very perfect feute of the hind.

    1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC
  4. To surround, encircle, beset; umbeset, circle around.
  5. To bind, tie up.
  6. To cast a shadow, cover with a shadow, shade

Origin

  1. Middle Englishumbecasten
  2. Englishumbecast

From Middle English umbecasten, equivalent to umbe- + cast or um- + becast.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

umbecast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbecast

MLA

“umbecast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbecast. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “umbecast,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbecast.

Source: umbecast on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.