Wiktionary

caste

English edit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish casta (“lineage, breed, race”), of uncertain origin. The OED derives it from Portuguese casto (“chaste”), from Latin castus. Coromines (1987) argues instead for a hypothetical Gothic form *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts), cognate with English cast, from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ǵ-es-.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

caste (plural castes)

  1. Any of the hereditary social classes and subclasses of South Asian societies.
    Hyponyms: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Shudra, Vaishya, varna
    • 2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian‎[1]:
      Pakistan is a conservative, religious state. The Edhi Foundation is unusual in its ignoring of caste, creed, religion and sect. This strict stance has led to some criticism from religious groups.
  2. A separate and fixed order or class of persons in society who chiefly associate with each other.
  3. (zoology) A class of polymorphous eusocial insects of a particular size and function within a colony.
    In beehives, most bees belong to the worker caste.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

Anagrams edit

Dutch edit

Verb edit

caste

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of casten

French edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Portuguese casta, if of Germanic origin, possibly from Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (kasts), from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ǵ-es- (“to throw”), similar to English cast. Or, alternatively from a derivative of Latin castus.

Noun edit

caste f (plural castes)

  1. caste (hereditary class)
  2. class (social position)

Further reading edit

Galician edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Probably from Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts), from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), compare English cast.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

caste f (plural castes)

  1. species, race or kind
    • 1853, Juan Manuel Pintos, A Gaita Gallega, Pontevedra: Impr. de D. José e D. Primitivo Vilas, page 29:
      Por aquí nacen os ricos polo outro probes labregos. Estas son as dúas castes que hai en todo o mundo inteiro.
      Here the rich people are born, there the poor peasants; these are the two races that there are in the whole world
  2. quality
    • 1859, Ramón Barros Silvelo, Un dia de desfertuna, page 3:
      Dime logo que o probe do animal ou é de mala caste, ou ben non come
      He readily told me that the animal [that I was selling] either was of bad quality, or either it didn't eat
  3. progeny; group of people that share a common ancestor
    Synonyms: estirpe, fruxe, liñaxe
    • 1853, Juan Manuel Pintos, A Gaita Gallega, Pontevedra: Impr. de D. José e D. Primitivo Vilas, page 8:
      { soy llamado Pedro Luces ... } - To to to, vamos con tento que un home con ese nome pode ser caste do demo.
      {I am called Peter Lights...} —Wo wo wo! Let us be careful: a man with that name could de a Devil's child.

Derived terms edit

References edit

  1. ^ Joan Coromines, José A. Pascual (1983–1991) “casta”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Italian edit

Adjective edit

caste

  1. feminine plural of casto

Noun edit

caste f

  1. plural of casta

Anagrams edit

Latin edit

Etymology 1 edit

From castus +‎ -ē.

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

castē (comparative castius, superlative castissimē)

  1. purely, spotlessly, virtuously
  2. piously, religiously

Etymology 2 edit

Inflected form of castus.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

caste

  1. vocative masculine singular of castus

References edit

  • “caste”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “caste”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • caste in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=caste&oldid=78298193"