caste
caste [caste castes] BrE [kɑːst] NAmE [kæst] noun
1. countable any of the four main divisions of Hindu society, originally those made according to functions in society
•the caste system
•high-caste Brahmins
2. countable a social class, especially one whose members do not allow others to join it
•the ruling caste
3. uncountable the system of dividing society into classes based on differences in family origin, rank or wealth
Word Origin:
mid 16th cent. (in the general sense ‘race, breed’): from Spanish and Portuguese casta ‘lineage, race, breed’, feminine of casto ‘pure, unmixed’, from Latin castus ‘chaste’.
Example Bank:
•He belongs to one of the highest castes.
•low-caste families
•the Hindu caste system
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