caste (k st)n. 1. 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. 2. A social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank, profession, or wealth. 3. 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. 4. 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. [Spanish casta, race, and Portuguese casta, race, caste, both from feminine of casto, pure, from Latin castus; see kes- in Indo-European roots.] |
caste
Noun
1. any of the four major hereditary classes into which Hindu society is divided
2. social rank [Latin castus pure, not polluted]
| caste (kst) 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. |   left to right: worker, queen, and drone honey bees |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | caste - social status or position conferred by a system based on class; "lose caste by doing work beneath one's station" |
| 2. | caste - (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity Hindooism, Hinduism - a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and based on a caste system; it is characterized by a belief in reincarnation, by a belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils social class, socio-economic class, stratum, class - people having the same social, economic, or educational status; "the working class"; "an emerging professional class" jati - (Hinduism) a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India; a special characteristic is often the exclusive occupation of its male members (such as barber or potter) | |
| 3. | caste - a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth social class, socio-economic class, stratum, class - people having the same social, economic, or educational status; "the working class"; "an emerging professional class" | |
| 4. | caste - in some social insects (such as ants) a physically distinct individual or group of individuals specialized to perform certain functions in the colony bugology, entomology - the branch of zoology that studies insects animal group - a group of animals colony - a group of organisms of the same type living or growing together |
caste
Translations
n caste [kaːst]
a social class especially in India the lowest caste; (also adjective ) the caste system. kaste, stand طَبَقَةٌ خاصَّةٌ عِنْدَ الهِنْدوس каста kasta, kastovní kaste; kaste- die Kaste κάστα casta kast هر یک از طبقات اجتماعی هندوهاکه منفصل از دیگر طبقات هستند؛ کست kasti caste כָּת מַעֲמָדִית בְּהוֹדוּ जाति, वर्ण, गोत्र kasta kaszt kasta (erfða)stétt casta カースト制度 카스트(제도) kasta kasta; kastas- kasta kaste kaste kasta casta castă каста kasta; kastový kasta kasta kast ชนชั้นหรือกลุ่มในสังคม kast, toplumsal sınıf (印度的)社會等級 каста; кастовий ذات đẳng cấp （印度的）社会等级
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