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印度种姓：
members of the lower castes
下层种姓成员
mass noun a man of high caste.一个上层种姓男子。
1.1
- mass noun the system of dividing society into such classes种姓制度。
1.2
- any class or group of people who inherit exclusive privileges or are perceived as socially distinct特权阶层：
those educated in private schools belong to a privileged caste.
那些接受私立学校教育的人属于特权阶层。
1.3
- Entomology (in some social insects) a physically distinct individual with a particular function in the society【昆】级（某些群居昆虫中因体格不同而群栖功能亦不同的个体）。
There are four basic classes or varnas in Hindu society: Brahman (priest), Kshatriya (warrior), Vaisya (merchant or farmer), and Sudra (labourer).
短语
lose caste
1
- descend in the caste system, e.g. by having contact with a person of low caste, by eating foods regarded as unclean, or by taking employment regarded as of lower status失去种姓地位（因与下层种姓之人接触, 吃被视为不洁的食物或从事下等人的职业等而在种姓系统中地位下降）。
1.1
- come to be regarded with less respect; lose status被人轻视; 丧失地位：
they lost caste by moving away from the old house.
他们因搬离古宅而被人藐视。
词源
mid 16th cent. （in the general sense 'race, breed'）： from Spanish and Portuguese casta 'lineage, race, breed', feminine of casto 'pure, unmixed', from Latin castus 'chaste'.