Dalit


Da·lit

D5012250 (dä′lĭt)n. A member of the lowest class in traditional Indian society, falling altogether outside the Hindu caste categories and subject to extensive social restrictions.
[Hindi dalit, crushed, oppressed, from Sanskrit dalita-, past passive participle of dalayati, to cause to burst, variant of darayati, he splits, derived form (probably a denominative of -daraḥ, smasher, as in puraṃdaraḥ, citadel-smasher, an epithet of Indra) of darati, he splits; see der- in Indo-European roots.]
Da′lit adj.

Dalit

(ˈdɑːlɪt) n (Hinduism) a member of the lowest class in India, whom those of the four main castes were formerly forbidden to touch. Formerly called (offensive): untouchable [from Hindi, from Sanskrit dalita, literally: oppressed]