caste

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish casta (“lineage, breed, race”), which the OED derives from Portuguese casto (“chaste”), from Latin castus (“chaste"; "chastity”), Coromines (1987) argues instead for a hypothetical Gothic form *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts, “group, collection of animals”), cognate with English cast, from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ǵ-es-. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: käst, IPA(key): /kɑːst/ (Northern England, Scotland) IPA(key): /kast/ (General American) IPA(key): /kæst/ Homophones: cast; karst (non-rhotic, trap–bath split) Rhymes: -ɑːst === Noun === caste (plural castes) Any of the hereditary social classes and subclasses of South Asian societies or similar found historically in other cultures. Hyponyms: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Shudra, Vaishya, varna A separate and fixed order or class of persons in society who chiefly associate with each other. (uncountable) The division of society into castes; the caste system. (zoology) A class of polymorphous eusocial insects of a particular size and function within a colony. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === Cates, Stace, cates, scate, sceat, taces == Dutch == === Verb === caste (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of casten == French == === Etymology === 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 === caste f (plural castes) caste (hereditary class) class (social position) === Further reading === “caste”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Galician == === Alternative forms === casta === Etymology === Probably from Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts), from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), compare English cast. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkaste/ [ˈkɑs̺.t̪ɪ] Rhymes: -aste Hyphenation: cas‧te === Noun === caste f (plural castes) species, race or kind quality progeny; group of people that share a common ancestor Synonyms: estirpe, fruxe, liñaxe ==== Derived terms ==== === References === Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “caste”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “caste”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “caste”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN === Further reading === “caste”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026 “caste”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026 == Italian == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkas.te/ Rhymes: -aste Hyphenation: cà‧ste === Etymology 1 === ==== Adjective ==== caste feminine plural of casto === Etymology 2 === ==== Noun ==== caste f plural of casta === Anagrams === cesta, steca == Latin == === Etymology 1 === From castus + -ē. ==== Pronunciation ==== (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈkas.teː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈkas.te] ==== Adverb ==== castē (comparative castius, superlative castissimē) purely, spotlessly, virtuously piously, religiously === Etymology 2 === Inflected form of castus. ==== Pronunciation ==== (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈkas.tɛ] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈkas.te] ==== Adjective ==== caste vocative masculine singular of castus === References === “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. == Portuguese == === Verb === caste inflection of castar: first/third-person singular present subjunctive third-person singular imperative