untouchable adj

1 beyond the reach of criticism or attack or impeachment; "for the first time criticism was directed at a hitherto untouchable target"- Newsweek

2 impossible to assail [syn: unassailable]

3 forbidden to the touch; "in most museums such articles are untouchable"

4 defiling to the touch; especially used in traditional Hindu belief of the lowest caste or castes

5 not capable of being obtained; "a rare work, today almost inaccessible"; "timber is virtually unobtainable in the islands"; "untouchable resources buried deep within the earth" [syn: inaccessible, unobtainable, unprocurable] n : belongs to lowest social and ritual class in India [syn: Harijan]

English

Etymology

un- + touch + -able

Adjective

1. Not able to be touched.

Translations

• French: intouchable

Noun

1. A criminal so adept, they cannot be arrested (effective bribes securely in place.)
2. A pariah.
3. (Dated) In the Indian caste system, a member of the lowest caste.

Untouchable may refer to:

in social systems:

• Baekjeong, Korean outcaste
• Burakumin, hisabetsu buraku, a Japanese social minority group
• Dalit, in India and Nepal, a person outside and below the other castes
• Khadem, an ethnic minority group in Yemen
• Homo sacer, "sacred man" an obscure figure of Roman law
• Untouchable (social system), a general description of untouchables in societies
• Osu caste system in Nigeria and Cameroon

in culture (music):

• Untouchable (song) from the album beautifulgarbage by the band Garbage
• Untouchable (2Pac song) song from the album Pac's Life, by Tupac Shakur
• Untouchable (Melissa Jiménez song)
• The Untouchable, 1997 album by hip hop artist Scarface
• Untouchables (album) by the band Korn
• Untouchables (band), California soul/mod band
• Untouchables (D.C. band), hardcore punk band
• The Untouchables (rock band), a progressive rock band from England, formed by Adrian Smith
• The Untouchables (song) from the album Broadway the Hard Way by Frank Zappa

in culture (other):

• Untouchable, 1935 novel by Mulk Raj Anand
• Untouchable, human who has no presence in the warp in the Warhammer 40,000 universe
• The Untouchable (novel) by John Banville
• Untouchables, fictional organization in the DC Universe
• The Untouchables (1957 book), co-authored by Eliot Ness
• The Untouchables (1959 TV series), based on Ness' book, starring Robert Stack
• The Untouchables (1987 film), starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro
• The Untouchables (video game), based on the film
• The Untouchables: Capone Rising (in production), also by Brian De Palma, a prequel to the first movie
• The Untouchables (1993 TV series) starring Tom Amandes as Ness
• The Untouchables of Elliot Mouse, a BRB International animated cartoon series
• The Untouchable (novel) 1997, a roman à clef by John Banville

in other meanings:

• Untouchable number, an integer that can not be expressed as the sum of all the proper divisors of any other integer
• Untouchables (law enforcement), law enforcement agents led by Eliot Ness who helped arrest the gangster Al Capone
• Deuce 'N Domino, a professional wrestling tag team
• The Untouchables, an All Japan Pro Wrestling team

See also

• Outcast

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