caster

[ kas-ter, kah-ster ]

/ ˈkæs tər, ˈkɑ stər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caster ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Also castor (for defs 2–5).

a person or thing that casts.

a small wheel on a swivel, set under a piece of furniture, a machine, etc., to facilitate moving it.

a bottle or cruet for holding a condiment.

a stand containing a set of such bottles.

a metal container for sugar, pepper, etc., having a perforated top to permit sprinkling; dredger; muffineer.

Automotive. the angle that the kingpin makes with the vertical. Automobiles are usually designed with the upper end of the kingpin inclined rearward (positive caster) for improved directional stability.

verb (used without object)

(of a wheel) to swivel freely in a horizontal plane.

Nearby words

Origin of caster

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at cast, -er¹

Related formscast·er·less, adjective

Definition for caster (2 of 2)

caste

[ kast, kahst ]

/ kæst, kɑst /

noun

Sociology.

an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups.
any rigid system of social distinctions.

Hinduism. any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next; jati.Compare class(def 13).

any class or group of society sharing common cultural features: low caste; high caste.

social position conferred upon one by a caste system: to lose caste.

Entomology. one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by caste: a caste society; a caste system; a caste structure.

Origin of caste

1545–55; < Portuguese casta race, breed, noun use of casta, feminine of casto < Latin castus pure, chaste

Related forms

caste·ism, nouncaste·less, adjectivean·ti·caste, adjectivein·ter·caste, adjective

sub·caste, noun

Can be confusedcast caste class

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caster

Then that brought up the question of sentience: Is this Will Caster?
How ‘Transcendence’ Director Wally Pfister Became Christopher Nolan’s Secret Weapon|Andrew Romano|April 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Within he found a young man whom the caster addressed most respectfully as Dr. Benda, and who was about thirty years old.
The Goose Man|Jacob Wassermann
Then Caster came up, and immediately after him, red in the face as though he were going to have a fit, Miller.
The Trembling of a Leaf|William Somerset Maugham
In the middle were hooks in the trunk-beams for the caster and the lantern.
The Yacht Club|Oliver Optic

On these the caster and modeller may work his will, and if he also possesses a good eye for color the results may be of the best.
Home Taxidermy for Pleasure and Profit|Albert B. Farnham
It was quite a little while before the caster turned to Daniel and asked him what he wanted.
The Goose Man|Jacob Wassermann

British Dictionary definitions for caster (1 of 2)

caster

/ (ˈkɑːstə) /

noun

a person or thing that casts

Also: castor a bottle with a perforated top for sprinkling sugar, etc, or a stand containing such bottles

Also: castor a small wheel mounted on a swivel so that the wheel tends to turn into its plane of rotation

British Dictionary definitions for caster (2 of 2)

caste

/ (kɑːst) /

noun

any of the four major hereditary classes, namely the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra into which Hindu society is dividedSee also Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Sudra
Also called: caste system the system or basis of such classes
the social position or rank conferred by this system

any social class or system based on such distinctions as heredity, rank, wealth, profession, etc

the position conferred by such a system

entomol any of various types of specialized individual, such as the worker, in social insects (hive bees, ants, etc)

Word Origin for caste

C16: from Portuguese casta race, breed, ancestry, from casto pure, chaste, from Latin castus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for caster (1 of 3)

caster

n.1

"person or thing that casts," late 14c. (also sometimes castor), agent noun from cast (v.). Meaning "pepper shaker, small perforated container" is from 1670s, on notion of "throwing."

Word Origin and History for caster (1 of 3)

caster

n.2

"wheel and swivel attached to furniture," 1748, agent noun from cast (v.) in the old sense of "turn." Also sometimes castor.

Word Origin and History for caster (2 of 3)

caste

1550s, "a race of men," from Latin castus "chaste," from castus "cut off, separated; pure" (via notion of "cut off" from faults), past participle of carere "to be cut off from" (and related to castration), from PIE *kas-to-, from root *kes- "to cut" (cf. Latin cassus "empty, void"). Originally spelled cast in English and later often merged with cast (n.) in its secondary sense "sort, kind, style."

Application to Hindu social groups was picked up by English in India 1610s from Portuguese casta "breed, race, caste," earlier casta raça, "unmixed race," from the same Latin word. The current spelling of of the English word is from this reborrowing. Caste system is first recorded 1840.

Science definitions for caster

caste

[ kăst ]

A specialized group carrying out a specific function within a colony of social insects. For example, in an ant colony, members of the caste of workers forage for food outside the colony or tend eggs and larvae, while the members of the caste of soldiers, often larger with stronger jaws, are responsible for defense of the colony.

Culture definitions for caster

caste

[ (kast) ]

One of the four hereditary social divisions in Hinduism. Members of any one caste are restricted in their choice of occupation and may have only limited association with members of other castes.

Note

Caste has come to mean a group of persons set apart by economic, social, religious, legal, or political criteria, such as occupation, status, religious denomination, legal privilege, skin color, or some other physical characteristic. Members of a caste tend to associate among themselves and rarely marry outside the caste. Castes are more socially separate from each other than are social classes.

Note

During the height of segregation in the United States, African-Americans were sometimes loosely referred to as a caste.

caster

noun Also castor (for defs 2–5).

verb (used without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of caster

Definition for caster (2 of 2)

caste

noun

adjective

Origin of caste

Examples from the Web for caster

British Dictionary definitions for caster (1 of 2)

caster

noun

British Dictionary definitions for caster (2 of 2)

caste

noun

Word Origin for caste

Word Origin and History for caster (1 of 3)

caster

Word Origin and History for caster (1 of 3)

caster

Word Origin and History for caster (2 of 3)

caste

Science definitions for caster

caste

Culture definitions for caster

caste

Note

Note