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.
b.
any rigid system of social distinctions.
2.
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. Compare class(def. 13).
3.
any class or group of society sharing common cultural features: low caste; high caste.
4.
social position conferred upon one by a caste system: to lose caste.
5.
Entomology. one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.
–adjective
6.
of, pertaining to, or characterized by caste: a caste society; a caste system; a caste structure.
Origin: 1545–55; < Pg casta race, breed, n. use of casta, fem. of casto < L castus pure, chaste
Any of the hereditary, endogamous social classes or subclasses of traditional Hindu society, stratified according to Hindu ritual purity, especially the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra castes.
A social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank, profession, or wealth.
A social system or the principle of grading society based on castes.
The social position or status conferred by a system based on castes: lose caste by doing work beneath one's station.
A specialized level in a colony of social insects, such as ants, in which the members, such as workers or soldiers, carry out a specific function.
[Spanish casta, race, and Portuguese casta, race, caste, both from feminine of casto, pure, from Latin castus; see kes- in Indo-European roots.]
A specialized group carrying out a specific function within a colony of social insects. For example, in an ant colony, members of the caste of workers forage for food outside the colony or tend eggs and larvae, while the members of the caste of soldiers, often larger with stronger jaws, are responsible for defense of the colony.
[kast, kahst] 
