caste
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
See caste in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(kăst)
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.
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