caste system

American  

[kast sis-tuhm, kahst] / ˈkæst ˌsɪs təm, ˈkɑst /

noun

1. the rigid Hindu system of hereditary social distinctions based on castes.

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Etymology

Origin of caste system

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Yet in a provocative new book, The Caste Con Census, scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde warns that the exercise may harden the deeply discriminatory caste system, when the need is to dismantle it.

From BBC

There a medieval caste system has bred, not surprisingly, rebellion and the suspicion that all is not what it seems above ground.

From Los Angeles Times

Throughout his career, he fought to reform Hindu laws of the time on marriage and women's rights and to abolish the caste system.

From BBC

People would point out that the Nazis were inspired by the racial caste system in the United States and of course, as you well know, we have a long tradition in this country of reaction.

From Salon

Those demands must also frame the struggle in the clear language that Donald Trump’s attempts to reconstitute the racial caste system are wrong.

From Salon