Where does “caste” come from?
Caste comes from Spanish casta, meaning "breed" or "lineage," which derived from Latin castus, meaning "pure" or "chaste."
caste (English): Any of the hereditary social classes and...
Definitions
- Any of the hereditary social classes and...
Ancestry of “caste”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | casta | lineage; breed; caste |
| 2 | Latin | castus | morally pure, guiltless; pure, chaste, free from... |
| 3 | Latin | careō | to lack, be without. (usually with ablative), to be deprived of |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | kazēō | to lack |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱes-éh₁-ye-ti | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱes- | to cut off, separate; to cut up, to slaughter; to... |