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   caste

   /kɑːst/

   noun

   • 1. each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status: "members of the lower castes"
   • ▪ the system of dividing society into castes: "caste has survived among Goa's Christians"
   • ▪ any class or group of people who inherit exclusive privileges or are perceived as socially distinct: "those educated in private schools belong to a privileged caste"
   • ▪ (in some social insects) a class of physically distinct individuals with a particular function in the society: "in both ants and termites the workers can include specialist castes such as soldiers"

   Word Origin mid 16th century (in the general sense ‘race, breed’): from Spanish and Portuguese casta ‘lineage, race, breed’, feminine of casto ‘pure, unmixed’, from Latin castus ‘chaste’.

   Scrabble Points: 7

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