cas(ta)

adverb. to the top, to(wards) the top, [ᴹQ.] upwards

An adverb appearing in several documents, given as ᴱQ. kasta “to the top” (PE15/78), ᴹQ. kas “towards the top” (PE21/22), kas “upwards” (PE21/25), and kas or kasta “to the top” (PE21/76), the first one from the 1920s, the second two from the early 1930s, and the last pair from the early 1950s. In the first instance it was an ordinary allative of the period, the second two instances were derived from ᴹ✶kast, and the last pair was derived from ✶kasd(a), where ✶-da was the ancient allative suffix “to” also seen in Q. tar(a) “thither” (PE19/104; VT49/11). Its base root is √KAS “head”, so its original meaning was “to the head”. Compare also tal(da) “to the bottom, (orig.) to the foot”.