Caste
[kɑːst] or [kæst]
Definition
(noun.) in some social insects (such as ants) a physically distinct individual or group of individuals specialized to perform certain functions in the colony.
(noun.) a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth.
(noun.) (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity.
(noun.) social status or position conferred by a system based on class; 'lose caste by doing work beneath one's station'.
Edited by Julia--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) One of the hereditary classes into which the Hindoos are divided according to the laws of Brahmanism.
(n.) A separate and fixed order or class of persons in society who chiefly hold intercourse among themselves.
Inputed by Cyrus
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Class, order, race.
Typist: Lolita
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Order, class, rank, lineage, race, blood, dignity, respect
ANT:Degradation, taboo, disrepute, abasement, reproach
Edited by Barbie
Definition
n. a term applied chiefly to distinct classes or sections of society in India and in a modified sense to social distinctions of an exclusive nature among other nations.—Lose caste to descend in social rank.
Checked by Dolores
Examples
- If he belonged to some savage tribe he had a savage wife--a dozen of them perhaps--and wild, half-caste children. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- She felt as if a great gulf lay between her caste and his, and that to cross it or meet him half-way would be to degrade herself. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- As we have already noted, this priestly caste was still only struggling to dominate Indian life in the days of Gautama. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- However caste arose, there can be no doubt of its extraordinary hold upon the Indian mind. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The various subdivisions of caste are very complex; many are practically trade organizations. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Vous ne voulez pas de moi pour voisin, he growled: vous vous donnez des airs de caste; vous me traitez en paria; he scowled. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The history of science is hostile to the spirit of caste. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The real political genius stands between the actual life of men, their wishes and their needs, and all the windings of official caste and professional snobbery. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- They were Brahmins (he said) who had forfeited their caste in the service of the god. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Unless, after long experience, I am utterly mistaken, those men are high-caste Brahmins. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- The caste system Yuan Chwang found fully established in spite of Buddha, and the Brahmins were now altogether in the ascendant. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Remember that she comes of a caste who do not lightly show emotion. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- By losing caste a man does not sink to a lower caste; he becomes outcast. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He saw in the spreading doctrine of Buddhism an ally against the growth of priestcraft and caste. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He tried to make a caste of the peasants and small cultivators, and to restrict them from moving from their holdings. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Indian writers say that their function was to wait upon the three twice born castes above them. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He names the four main castes we have mentioned in chap. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Edited by Ivan