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DOWNCAST
Definition of DOWNCAST
adjective
Of the eyes, a facial expression, etc.: looking downwards, usually as a sign of discouragement, sadness, etc., or sometimes modesty.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The adjective is derived from Middle English doun-casten, *adoun-casten (“(adjective) cast down, dejected; (verb) to break down (something); to overcome (someone); to overturn (something)”), from down (“in a downward direction; (figurative) to destruction”), adoun (“downward”) + casten (“to throw (something), fling, hurl; to overcome (someone), defeat, overpower; [etc.]”) (from Old Norse kasta (“to cast, throw”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw”), from *kas- (“to throw, toss; to bring up”); further etymology uncertain), modelled similarly to other constructions in Middle English such as adoun-throwen (“to throw down”) and adoun-werpen (“to throw down”)). The English word is analysable as down- (prefix meaning ‘lower direction or position’) + cast (“that has been thrown”, adjective). The noun is derived from the adjective.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
4.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,888)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
DOWNCAST in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 16 boards so far. 25 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 38, 27 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 165, 1 November 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 38, 27 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
DOWNCAST starts with D and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read ACDNOSTW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start DOWNCA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 38
Could you have found DOWNCAST?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 38 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER