caste

caste

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Pronunciation

The IPA phonetic spelling for "caste" is kæst.

Syllable Breakdown

• caste: kæst (The word has only one syllable).

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Word Form Variations

The word "caste" primarily functions as a noun.

• Singular Noun: caste

• Plural Noun: castes

While historically and poetically it could be used as an adjective or verb, its most common modern use is as a noun.

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Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Noun (caste, castes)

1. A rigid, hereditary, and usually exclusive social class or system in traditional Hindu society, where membership is determined by birth, and the members of a given class are restricted in their association with members of other classes, especially regarding marriage and occupation.

• Synonyms: class, stratum, order, hierarchy, social rank, Varna.

• Antonyms: egalitarianism, classlessness, social mobility.

2. Any relatively exclusive or rigid social system of distinction based on wealth, occupation, privilege, or descent, which often limits interaction with those outside the group.

• Synonyms: clique, coterie, echelon, group, exclusive set.

• Antonyms: commonalty, populace, open society.

3. A specialized group within a colony of social insects (like bees, ants, or termites) that performs a specific function, such as the worker caste or the soldier caste.

• Synonyms: division, subdivision, rank, category.

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Examples of Use

1. Books and Literature (Referring to Social Hierarchy)

• "The system of caste is an intricate network of hereditary and ritual ranking that structures social interaction in India." (Dirks, Nicholas B. Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India, 2001)

• "In the novel, the protagonist navigates the rigid social caste system of the future, where citizens are genetically sorted into occupational groups." (A reference to Brave New World or similar dystopian fiction).

2. News and Journalism (Referring to Indian Social Structure)

• "Despite laws prohibiting discrimination, the struggle for equality among members of the lowest-ranked castes in rural India remains a formidable challenge." (The New York Times, October 2024)

• "The state legislature is debating a bill that would ban discrimination based on caste, expanding existing non-discrimination protections to include this specific form of bias." (The Washington Post, July 2024)

3. Online Publications and Academic Discourse (Referring to Broad Social Stratification)

• "The economic divide in Silicon Valley has created a de facto housing caste, where lower-wage workers are increasingly pushed out of the inner suburbs." (Wired Magazine, June 2023)

• "Examining the 'digital caste' is necessary to understand how access to high-speed internet shapes educational and professional opportunities in developing nations." (Academic paper on technology access, January 2024)

4. Entertainment and Media (Referring to Exclusive Groups or Status)

• "The historical drama focused on the British royal family often highlighted the distinct social caste that separated the minor royals and their staff from the core line of succession." (Television series review, 2023)

• "In many fantasy video games, characters are sorted into a fighting caste (warriors), a magic caste (wizards), and a support caste (healers) that dictate their core abilities and skill trees." (Video game review and analysis)

5. General Public Discourse (Referring to Insect Colonies)

• "It's fascinating how a termite queen can switch the production of her eggs to create a soldier caste when the colony's defenses are breached." (Nature documentary narration or science podcast, 2024)

• "The most numerous of the leafcutter ant colony is the worker caste, whose members are responsible for gathering and processing the foliage." (Nature blog post, April 2025)

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10 Famous Quotes Using Caste

1. "The outcaste is a bye-product of the caste system. There will be outcastes as long as there are castes." (B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste)

2. "The destruction of Caste does not therefore mean the destruction of a physical barrier. Caste is a notion; it is a state of the mind." (B. R. Ambedkar)

3. "I have frequently said that I do not believe in caste in the modern sense. It is an excrescence and a handicap on progress." (Mahatma Gandhi, Varna and Caste)

4. "Caste is another name for control. Caste puts a limit on enjoyment." (B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste)

5. "You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State." (Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

6. "Race is the visual marker of caste in the United States." (Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents)

7. "The purification required is not of untouchables but of the so-called superior castes." (Mahatma Gandhi)

8. "A caste system is an artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups." (Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents)

9. "It is not possible to break Caste without annihilating the religious notions on which it, the Caste system, is founded." (B. R. Ambedkar)

10. "If caste is thus unavoidable, I would rather have a caste of purity and culture and self-sacrifice, than a caste of dollars." (Swami Vivekananda)

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Etymology

The etymology of the word caste is fascinating because it is an English word used to describe a social system primarily associated with India, but the word itself comes from an entirely different language.

Here is the breakdown in easy-to-understand terms:

• Origin: The word "caste" comes to English from the Portuguese word casta.

• Original Portuguese Meaning: In Portuguese, casta literally meant "race," "lineage," "breed," or "pure/unmixed stock." It described the purity of a family line, a species, or a group.

• The Transition (First Use): The word was first used by the Portuguese explorers and traders who arrived in India in the 16th century. When they encountered the rigid, hereditary system of social hierarchy among the Hindus, they needed a term to describe it. They applied their word casta to this system because it dealt with people grouped by birth and "purity of descent."

• Entry into English: The word was borrowed into English in the 1600s, initially to specifically describe the four main hereditary social divisions (varnas) of Hindu society.

• Evolution in English: Over time, the meaning broadened in English to refer to any rigid or exclusive system of social ranking based on birth, wealth, or profession, such as the "priestly caste" or the "ruling caste" in other contexts.

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Phrases + Idioms Containing Caste

Finding commonly recognized idioms specifically containing the word "caste" is difficult, as the term is typically used in a literal or sociological context rather than in figurative expressions. Therefore, this list includes the few literal phrases that are common, and supplements with lesser-known/original phrases and idioms using synonyms to convey similar ideas of rigid social division.

Phrases and Idioms Using "Caste"

Literal and Common Phrases

1. Caste System: The most common phrase, referring to the rigid social hierarchy, particularly in India.

2. Social Caste: Used to describe any rigid class division or exclusive social grouping, regardless of location.

3. Untouchable Caste: A literal, though increasingly dated, term referring to the Dalits or those outside the traditional four varnas.

4. Military/Worker Caste: Used in a biological context to describe specialized groups within insect colonies (e.g., ants, bees).

Lesser-Known and Original Phrases/Analogues

These phrases use "caste" or synonyms to express the concept of deep social division and rigidity:

1. Born to a high/low caste: A phrase describing someone's inherited social rank or station at birth.

2. Breaking the caste barrier: An expression referring to defying or transcending rigid social segregation, often through intermarriage or achieving high status despite low birth.

3. Upper-caste privilege: A term used in discourse to identify the inherent, unearned advantages enjoyed by those born into a dominant social grouping.

4. Trapped in the iron caste: (Original/Figurative) A metaphor for being permanently confined by an unyielding social structure.

Idioms with Synonyms for Similar Effect (Social Exclusion/Rigidity)

1. The other side of the tracks: An idiom meaning to live in or belong to a different, usually poorer or less privileged, class or neighborhood.

2. A fish out of water: An idiom suggesting someone is out of their element or uncomfortable in a new social stratum or environment.

3. Keep up with the Joneses: An idiom that implies competition or adherence to the social standards of one's wealthy or privileged set (class/caste).

4. The blue bloods: An idiom referring to members of the highest social rank or aristocracy; those of "pure" lineage.

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Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

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Source Information

Definition of caste from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

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