The Sanskrit word
brahmana, usually rendered as
brahmin in English, refers to a Hindu priest. The brahmins (priests) were one of the four classes in ancient Indian culture, along with the
kshatriya class of military rulers, the
vaishya class of merchants and farmers, and the
shudra class of servants and workers. You can read more about Hindu brahmins at
Wikipedia.
In 19th-century English, the word "brahmin" became specifically associated in a jesting way with the upper class of Boston thanks to an 1860 article by Oliver Wendell Holmes. You can read more about the "Boston Brahmins" at
Wikipedia.
The image below shows
brahmins conducting a marriage ceremony:
