Forcastynge

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Estimating what will happen later on, such as the weather or market trends ; arranging or contriving a course of action beforehand
2. Judging in advance how events or conditions will turn out ; devising a plan or scheme ahead of time
3. Working out in advance what is likely to occur ; shaping or contriving a strategy before it is needed

Etymology: "Forcastynge" is a Middle English spelling of "forecasting," and its history is simple. The word is a compound of "fore," meaning "before," and "casting," from the Middle English verb "casten," meaning to throw, reckon, or calculate. The idea was of throwing one's thoughts ahead to see what lay ahead, much as a person might throw a line ahead of a boat. The spelling "forcastynge" shows the older form in use before standardized English spelling settled. Readers of Middle English texts will meet it in several variants, and the modern form took shape gradually. The word's core sense of planning or reckoning ahead has stayed with it, even as its uses have narrowed to weather, markets, and sales.