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caste
The definition of caste is a system of hierarchical social classes, or a specific social class of people.
(noun)- When you are of a high social status, this is an example of your caste.
- The Brahmins are an example of a caste in the Hindu culture.
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See caste in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- any of the distinct, hereditary Hindu social classes, each traditionally, but no longer officially, excluded from social dealings with the others
- any exclusive and restrictive social or occupational class or group
- rigid class distinction based on birth, wealth, etc., operating as a social system or principle
- any of the differentiated types of individuals in a colony of social insects
Origin: Fr < Port casta, breed, race, caste < L castus, pure, chaste, orig., cut off, separated, pp. of carere, to be cut off from < IE base *es-, to cut > MIr cess, spear
See caste in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- Any of the hereditary, endogamous social classes or subclasses of traditional Hindu society, stratified according to Hindu ritual purity, especially the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra castes.
- A social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank, profession, or wealth.
- a. A social system or the principle of grading society based on castes.b. The social position or status conferred by a system based on castes: lose caste by doing work beneath one's station.
- A specialized level in a colony of social insects, such as ants, in which the members, such as workers or soldiers, carry out a specific function.
Origin:
Origin: Spanish casta, race
Origin: , and Portuguese casta, race, caste
Origin: , both from feminine of casto, pure
Origin: , from Latin castus; see kes- in Indo-European roots
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