Half-caste

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Half-caste (or
often mis-spelt half-cast) is a term used to describe people of mixed
race or ethnicity. Caste comes from the Latin castus, meaning pure, and
the dervative Portuguese and Spanish casta, meaning race. The term
originates from the Indian caste system, where a person of 'lesser' or
half-caste would be deemed to be of a 'lower class'. While the origins
of the term are derogatory, its usage has evolved to give it the more
objective meaning described above.