casta

Alternative forms

• caste

Etymology

Probably from Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts), from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), compare English cast.^[1] Alternatively from a derivative of Latin castus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkasta/ [ˈkɑs̺.t̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -asta
• Hyphenation: cas‧ta

Noun

casta f (plural castas)

1. species, race or kind
   • 1807, anonymous author, Segundo diálogo dos esterqueiros:

     ben dicen alí que cando un home ten un bocado, nunca lle marran amigos. Dou ó Demo a casta deles Si non sirven para máis.

     wisely they say that a man which has food never is short of friends. I send to hell their kind if they are good for nothing else

2. quality
3. lineage, progeny, offspring, group of people who share the same ancestors
4. caste (hereditary class)

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “casta”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “casta”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “casta”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Aran) IPA^(key): [ˈkɑsˠt̪ˠə]
• (Connemara, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): [ˈkasˠt̪ˠə]

Participle

casta

1. past participle of cas

Adjective

casta

1. twisted, wound
2. complicated, intricate, involved
3. gnarled, bent, wizened

Noun

casta m sg

1. genitive singular of casadh

Mutation

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “casta”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese casta or Spanish casta, probably of Gothic and Germanic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.sta/
• Rhymes: -asta
• Hyphenation: cà‧sta

Noun

casta f (plural caste)

1. caste
2. establishment; the exclusive class of powerful people thought to really rule Italy

Adjective

casta f sg

1. feminine singular of casto (“chaste”)

Anagrams

• Tasca, tasca

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkas.ta/, [ˈkäs̠t̪ä]

• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkas.ta/, [ˈkäst̪ä]

Adjective

casta

1. inflection of castus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/nominative neuter plural

Adjective

castā

1. ablative feminine singular of castus

References

• "casta", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: cas‧ta

Etymology 1

Uncertain, possibly from the feminine of casto (“chaste”) (from Old Galician-Portuguese casto, from Latin castus) or from Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (*kastan) or *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), *kastuz.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkasta/ [ˈkas.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -asta
• Syllabification: cas‧ta

Etymology 1

• Probably of Germanic origin; compare Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts), from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”). Alternatively from a derivative of Latin castus (“chaste”).
• (establishment): Term popularized in Spain in 2014 by the Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias, and his Podemos party to criticize the establishment.^[1] Although the term was already used in the 19th and 20th centuries and in 2010 by politicians and journalists.^[2]

Etymology 2

Further reading

• “casta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

References