casta

C3A1S1T1A1

noun

A hierarchical system of race classification created by Spanish elites in Hispanic America during the eighteenth century.

OriginSpanish casta →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

casta1

nouncasta (uncountable)
  1. historicaluncountableA hierarchical system of race classification created by Spanish elites in Hispanic America during the eighteenth century.

    Both of these political developments called attention to family lineage. In the Mexican colonial context, casta took on new meanings, referring to all the people of Mexico who were not of “pure” Spanish heritage.

    2012, Mary Jo Maynes, Ann Waltner, The Family: A World History, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Casta2

noun
  1. The institutionalized system of racial and social stratification in 17th-century Mexico.
  2. Variety, in reference to and in names of Portugal grapes or wine.

Origin

casta · noun

  1. Spanishcasta
  2. Spanishcasta
  3. Englishcasta

Borrowed from Spanish casta.

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Casta · noun

  1. Latincastus“pure”
  2. Gothic*𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃
  3. Portuguesecasta“lineage; breed; race”
  4. EnglishCasta

From Spanish and Portuguese casta (“lineage; breed; race”), either from Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts) or a derivative of Latin castus (“pure”).

More words from Portuguese, Gothic, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

casta. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/casta

MLA

“casta.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/casta. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “casta,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/casta.

Source: casta on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.