undercast
1
8.9
- noun
- /ˈʌndərˌkæst/
- Specialized
- The aircraft flew above an undercast, revealing a stunning view of the mountains peeking through the layer of clouds below.
Examples
-
There was a solid undercast a few thousand feet below, and here and there, tall, towering cumulus clouds stretched up to FL500.
Fiction book (2000) -
The sun threw up a light under the clouds, giving them a purple undercast, rising to a wild pink coral color.
Fiction book (1996) -
She roared down toward the undercast at more than 3,500 feet per minute.
Fiction book (2000) -
Slattery is built like a former college wrestler: thick-necked, broken-nosed, muscular, his hair retreating from his forehead, his eyes undercast with dark crescents.
Fiction book (2002) -
While flying to the coast, we encountered a thick undercast that obscured the landscape beneath us.
-
As we ascended, we could see the undercast forming a vast blanket of white clouds stretching across the valley.
Surface Forms
Morphology
undercast = cast (semi-transparent) = under + cast
The parts 'under' + 'cast' are visible, but the specific meteorological sense is specialized and not fully predictable for a general learner.
Etymology
Undercast comes from under 'below' and cast 'spread' or 'thrown', and you can think of it as the opposite of overcast; it pictures a wide blanket of cloud 'spread below' you, which is why it means a continuous layer of cloud seen from above.