caste
US /kæst/
UK /kæst/
1.
each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status.
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The traditional caste system in India has deep historical roots.
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Marriage outside one's caste was traditionally forbidden.
2.
a system of dividing society into hereditary classes.
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Many societies historically had some form of caste system.
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The novel explores the rigid social caste of the Victorian era.