carat

From Middle French carat, from Italian carato, from Arabic قِيرَاط (qīrāṭ, “carat, similarly small units such as inches”), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (kerátion, “hornlet, carob seed”), from κέρας (kéras, “horn”) + -ιον (-ion, diminutive suffix). Doublet of quilate.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkæ.ɹət/
• (US, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛɹ.ət/
• Homophones: karat, carrot; caret (weak vowel merger)
• Rhymes: -æɹət

carat (plural carats)

1. A metric unit of mass equal to exactly 200 mg, chiefly used for measuring precious stones and pearls.

   Meronym: grain

2. (historical) Any of several small units of mass used for measuring precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 189–212 mg.
3. A 24-point scale used to measure the purity of gold.

   Alternative form: (North America) karat

   18-carat gold is 75% gold by mass. 24-carat gold is pure.

• metric carat (SI unit equal to 0.2 g exactly), quilate (historical Iberian and Latin American contexts)

• ATRAC, Carta

carat m (plural carats)

1. carat

• “carat”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

First known attestation in 1360 in the plural as quarais. Attested in the singular as quaret at least as early as 1433. Spellings with an initial c- first attested 1367.^[1]

carat m (plural caras or caraz)

1. carat (measure of purity of gold)

• → English: carat

• IPA^(key): /ˈkarəd/

carat

1. genitive singular/plural of cara (“friend; relative”)

• IPA^(key): [ˈkarad]

carat

1. genitive singular/dual/plural of cara

Borrowed from French carat.

carat n (plural carate)

1. carat, karat