| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024caste /kæst/USA pronunciation n. - Eastern Religions[countable] any of the social divisions of Hindu society.
- Sociology a social division limited to people of the same rank, occupation, etc., by birth:[countable]castes of rich and poor.
- Sociology[uncountable] the rigid system of dividing or distinguishing among people in social groups in these ways.
- Sociology[uncountable] social position conferred upon one by a caste system: to lose caste.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024caste (kast, käst),USA pronunciation n. - Sociology
- an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups.
- any rigid system of social distinctions.
- Eastern Religions[Hinduism.]any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next;
jati. Cf. class. (def. 13). - Physical Anthropology, Sociologyany class or group of society sharing common cultural features:low caste; high caste.
- Sociologysocial position conferred upon one by a caste system:to lose caste.
- Insects[Entomol.]one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.
adj. - Sociologyof, pertaining to, or characterized by caste:a caste society;a caste system;a caste structure.
- Latin castus pure, chaste
- Portuguese casta race, breed, noun, nominal use of casta, feminine of casto
- 1545–55
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: caste /kɑːst/ n - any of the four major hereditary classes, namely the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra into which Hindu society is divided
See also Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya - Also called: caste system the system or basis of such classes
- the social position or rank conferred by this system
- any social class or system based on such distinctions as heredity, rank, wealth, profession, etc
- the position conferred by such a system
- any of various types of specialized individual, such as the worker, in social insects (hive bees, ants, etc)
Etymology: 16th Century: from Portuguese casta race, breed, ancestry, from casto pure, chaste, from Latin castus |