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Glite Dictionary
casteless

casteless

9.5
A person who does not belong to any caste and is often excluded from the community
  • adjective
  • /ˈkæsteɪləs/
  • Indian
translation icon : sin casta
  • A casteless system allows individuals to pursue their dreams without being limited by their social status.

Examples

  • Human longing in our country should be for nothing more or less than "a classless and casteless America" (30).

    Academic text (1998)

  • In a casteless society, everyone is treated equally regardless of their background.

  • The speaker advocated for a casteless community where hierarchy and discrimination no longer existed.

Synonyms

outcaste
vscasteless
  • Archaic
9.9

Not belonging to a caste or social group and treated as outside society

is simply without caste membership and lacks official place in the hierarchy

Surface Forms

casteless positive

Morphology

casteless = caste (transparent) = caste + less

The adjective is formed by the productive suffix '-less' added to the noun 'caste', yielding the straightforward meaning 'without caste'.

Etymology

Casteless comes from caste, a word English took from Portuguese for an Indian 'line' or 'family group', and the common English ending -less meaning 'without'. So casteless literally means 'without a caste' — someone who does not belong to any group in a caste system.