Rise And Growth Of The Caste System In Tamilnadu An Overview

Abstract

The word ‘caste’ comes from the Portuguese word ‘casta’ signifying breed, race or kind. The first use of the word ‘caste’ occur in 1563 in the writing of Garcia de Orta. The word ‘caste’ used by the French who spoke ‘caste’ meaning breed. It is not known whether the
Portuguese or the French used it originally in this sense; the probability is that the Portuguese were the first to coin the word