caste

[ kast, kahst ]

noun

1. Sociology.
   1. an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups.
   2. any rigid system of social distinctions.
2. Hinduism. any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next; jati. Compare class ( def 13 ).
3. any class or group of society sharing common cultural features:

   low caste; high caste.

4. social position conferred upon one by a caste system:

   to lose caste.

5. Entomology. one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by caste:

   a caste society; a caste system; a caste structure.

caste

/ kɑːst /

noun

1. 1. any of the four major hereditary classes, namely the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra into which Hindu society is divided See also Brahman Kshatriya Vaisya Sudra
   2. Also calledcaste system the system or basis of such classes
   3. the social position or rank conferred by this system
2. any social class or system based on such distinctions as heredity, rank, wealth, profession, etc
3. the position conferred by such a system
4. entomol any of various types of specialized individual, such as the worker, in social insects (hive bees, ants, etc)

caste

/ kăst /

1. A specialized group carrying out a specific function within a colony of social insects. For example, in an ant colony, members of the caste of workers forage for food outside the colony or tend eggs and larvae, while the members of the caste of soldiers, often larger with stronger jaws, are responsible for defense of the colony.

caste

1. One of the four hereditary social divisions in Hinduism . Members of any one caste are restricted in their choice of occupation and may have only limited association with members of other castes.

Notes

Caste has come to mean a group of persons set apart by economic, social, religious, legal, or political criteria, such as occupation, status , religious denomination, legal privilege, skin color, or some other physical characteristic. Members of a caste tend to associate among themselves and rarely marry outside the caste. Castes are more socially separate from each other than are social class es.

During the height of segregation in the United States, African-Americans were sometimes loosely referred to as a caste.

Other Words From

• casteism noun
• casteless adjective
• anti·caste adjective
• inter·caste adjective
• subcaste noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of caste¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Portuguese casta “race, breed,” noun use of casta, feminine of casto, from Latin castus “pure, chaste ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of caste¹

C16: from Portuguese casta race, breed, ancestry, from casto pure, chaste, from Latin castus

Example Sentences

Her very presence on a sabha stage — an elite space historically dominated by upper-caste Brahmins — is a “political act,” Pillai tells me.

From Ozy

“They don’t bring up caste, but they can easily identify us,” Kaila says, rattling off all of the ways he can be outed as potentially being Dalit, including the fact that he has darker skin.

From Washington Post

Right now, the truth is that we are living in precarious times – we always have been, to one degree or another, depending on where you are in the disparity that is this American caste system.

From Washington Blade

Intersections of gender, class, age and caste play a significant role in pushing women into exploitative situations.

From No Straight News

My wife and I learnt a great deal about race, caste, and social boundaries.

From Fortune

Such teaching is revolutionary in still-caste-divided India.

From The Daily Beast

The upper bureaucracy has evolved into a privileged and cossetted caste.

From The Daily Beast

If we say yes to Telangana, why not say yes to caste-based states?

From The Daily Beast

After all, caste is the most resistant feature of our politics, so why not just make it the basis for states formation?

From The Daily Beast

Just last week, at another exclusive do, Larry Summers delivered another shocking address to another slice of the master caste.

From The Daily Beast

Yet how came it that even a low-caste mongrel of a Lascar should offer such an overt insult to a Brahmin!

From Project Gutenberg

Caste is a thing you should be very careful of in these days, so the best thing is to ask for the Bear-Garden straightaway.

From Project Gutenberg

Until a few years ago the quarter known as the, Parian was the flourishing centre of the half-caste traders.

From Project Gutenberg

Several American officers were present on the occasion, accompanied by a Spanish half-caste who acted as their interpreter.

From Project Gutenberg

The labour of the spade and of the loom, and the petty gains of trade, he contemptuously abandoned to men of a lower caste.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• stratum