caste n 1: social status or position conferred by a system based on class; "lose caste by doing work beneath one's station" 2: (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity 3: a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth 4: in some social insects (such as ants) a physically distinct individual or group of individuals specialized to perform certain functions in the colony

caste cates cesta scate

caste 1555, "a race of men," from L. casto "chaste," from castus "pure, cut off, separated," pp. of carere "to be cut off from" (and related to castrate), from PIE base *kes- "to cut." Application to Hindu social groups picked up in India 17c. from Port. casta "breed, race, caste," earlier casta raca "unmixed race," from the same L. word.

caste noun Etymology: Portuguese casta, literally, race, lineage, from feminine of casto pure, chaste, from Latin castus Date: 1613 1. one of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism that restrict the occupation of their members and their association with the members of other castes 2. a. a division of society based on differences of wealth, inherited rank or privilege, profession, occupation, or race b. the position conferred by caste standing ; prestige 3. a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion 4. a specialized form (as the worker of an ant or bee) of a polymorphic social insect that carries out a particular function in the colony • casteism noun

caste
n.
1 any of the Hindu hereditary classes whose members have no social contact with other classes, but are socially equal with one another and often follow the same occupations.
2 a more or less exclusive social class.
3 a system of such classes.
4 the position it confers.
5 Zool. a form of social insect having a particular function.
Phrases and idioms:
caste mark a symbol on the forehead denoting a person's caste. lose caste descend in the social order.
Etymology: Sp. and Port. casta lineage, race, breed, fem. of casto pure, CHASTE

caste (castes) 1. A caste is one of the traditional social classes into which people are divided in a Hindu society. Most of the upper castes worship the Goddess Kali. N-COUNT 2. Caste is the system of dividing people in a society into different social classes. The caste system shapes nearly every facet of Indian life. N-UNCOUNT

caste kɑ:st n. 1 any of the Hindu hereditary classes whose members have no social contact with other classes, but are socially equal with one another and often follow the same occupations. 2 a more or less exclusive social class. 3 a system of such classes. 4 the position it confers. 5 Zool. a form of social insect having a particular function. øcaste mark a symbol on the forehead denoting a person's caste. lose caste descend in the social order. [Sp. and Port. casta lineage, race, breed, fem. of casto pure, CHASTE]

Caste rank in society of an exclusive nature due to birth or origin, such as prevails among the Hindus especially. Among them there are originally two great classes, the twice-born and the once-born, i. e. those who have passed through a second birth, and those who have not; of the former there are three grades, Brahmans, or the priestly caste, from the mouth of Brahma; Kshatriyas, or the soldier caste, from the hands of Brahma; and Vaisyas, or the agricultural caste, from the feet of Brahma; while the latter are of one rank and are menial to the other, called Sudras, earth-born all; notwithstanding which distinction often members of the highest class sink socially to the lowest level, and members of the lowest rise socially to the highest.

Caste \Caste\, n. [Pg. casta race, lineage, fr. L. castus pure, chaste: cf. F. caste, of same origin.] 1. One of the hereditary classes into which the Hindoos are divided according to the laws of Brahmanism. Note: The members of the same caste are theoretically of equal rank, and same profession or occupation, and may not eat or intermarry with those not of their own caste. The original are four, viz., the Brahmans, or sacerdotal order; the Kshatriyas, or soldiers and rulers; the Vaisyas, or husbandmen and merchants; and the Sudras, or laborers and mechanics. Men of no caste are Pariahs, outcasts. Numerous mixed classes, or castes, have sprung up in the progress of time. 2. A separate and fixed order or class of persons in society who chiefly hold intercourse among themselves. The tinkers then formed an hereditary caste. --Macaulay. To lose caste, to be degraded from the caste to which one has belonged; to lose social position or consideration.

caste n. 1. Permanent hereditary order (among tke Hindoos), Varna, fixed class. 2. Social order (generally), class-distinction, class, rank, grade of society.

caste kɑ:st n. (social) class, rank, order, level, stratum, standing, position, station, status, estate: The women of her caste practised suttee.

68 Moby Thesaurus words for "caste": ashram, blood, body, bracket, branch, category, clan, class, colony, commonwealth, commune, community, condition, division, echelon, economic class, endogamous group, estate, extended family, family, footing, gens, grade, group, grouping, head, heading, hierarchy, kin, kinship group, label, level, moiety, nuclear family, order, phratria, phratry, phyle, pigeonhole, place, position, power structure, precedence, predicament, race, rank, rate, rating, rubric, section, sept, set, settlement, social class, society, sphere, stage, standing, station, status, strain, stratum, subcaste, subdivision, subgroup, suborder, title, totem

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