■ noun
1》 each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status.
2》 Entomology (in some social insects) a physically distinct kind of individual with a particular function.
Phrases
lose ~ descend in status.
Derivatives
~ism noun
Origin
C16: from Sp. and Port. casta 'lineage, breed', feminine of casto 'pure, unmixed', from L. castus 'chaste'.