Castes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A social stratification system where individuals are categorized into hierarchical groups based on birth, occupation, or profession
2. A rigid structure of social hierarchy where mobility between groups is limited, often associated with specific duties or roles
3. A division in society characterized by hereditary status, where membership in a group determines social standing and relationships

Etymology: "Castes" is simply the plural of "caste", so the story belongs to the singular. The term came into English from Portuguese or Spanish "casta", meaning lineage, breed or race, and that is where its central sense of inherited group membership begins. The Portuguese word is usually traced to "casto", meaning chaste, from Latin "castus", which suggests a notion of pure, unmixed descent. This link is the standard account, though the Spanish and Portuguese usage clearly centred on bloodline. A rival theory deserves a mention. The Spanish scholar Joan Coromines argued instead for a hypothetical Gothic form "kasts", meaning a group or collection of animals, which would connect the word to the English "cast". That is a more concrete image, a set of things thrown or sorted together, but it rests on a reconstructed form rather than attested evidence, so the chastity route remains the usual explanation.

Synonyms: classes, strata