Definition of CASTE. Meaning of CASTE. Synonyms of CASTE

Here you will find one or more explanations in English for the word CASTE. Also in the bottom left of the page several parts of wikipedia pages related to the word CASTE and, of course, CASTE synonyms and on the right images related to the word CASTE.

Definition of CASTE

Caste
Caste Caste, n. [Pg. casta race, lineage, fr. L. castus pure, chaste: cf. F. caste, of same origin.] 1. One of the hereditary classes into which the Hindoos are divided according to the laws of Brahmanism. Note: The members of the same caste are theoretically of equal rank, and same profession or occupation, and may not eat or intermarry with those not of their own caste. The original are four, viz., the Brahmans, or sacerdotal order; the Kshatriyas, or soldiers and rulers; the Vaisyas, or husbandmen and merchants; and the Sudras, or laborers and mechanics. Men of no caste are Pariahs, outcasts. Numerous mixed classes, or castes, have sprung up in the progress of time. 2. A separate and fixed order or class of persons in society who chiefly hold intercourse among themselves. The tinkers then formed an hereditary caste. --Macaulay. To lose caste, to be degraded from the caste to which one has belonged; to lose social position or consideration.

Meaning of CASTE from wikipedia

- A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system...
- The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and...
- The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The...
- The Maratha caste is composed of 96 clans, originally formed in the earlier centuries from the amalgamation of families from the peasant (Kunbi), shepherd...
- Kapu is a Hindu caste primarily found in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kapus are classified as a Forward caste, and are a community of land-owning...
- stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold varna of the caste hierarchy and...
- decided by birth. Broadly, Indian castes are divided into the Forward Castes, Other Backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. Indian Christians...
- The Bhandari community is a caste that inhabits the western coast of India. Their traditional occupation was "toddy tapping".they were also good naval...
- up caste in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Caste is a system of social stratification and hierarchy in human societies. It may also refer to: Caste system...
- Kamma is a largely Hindu caste from South India. The community of Kammas is believed to have originated from agriculturists of the Kammanadu region of...