carat

See also: carât

English

Alternative forms
  • (unit of purity): karat (North America)

Etymology

Middle French carat, from Italian carato, from Arabic قِيرَاط‎ (qīrāṭ, “carat”) (and meaning other small units as well, such as an inch), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (kerátion, “carob seed”), diminutive form of κέρας (kéras, “horn”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈkæɹ.ət/
  • Homophones: karat, carrot
  • (weak vowel merger) Homophone: caret

Noun

carat (plural carats)

  1. A unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams.
  2. (historical) Any of several units of weight, varying from 189 to 212 mg, the weight of a carob seed.
  3. A measure of the purity of gold, pure gold being 24 carats.

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Middle French

Etymology

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].

Noun

carat m (plural caras or caraz)

  1. carat (measure of purity of gold)

References
  1. Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (carat, supplement)

Middle Irish

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈkarad/

Noun

carat

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

Mutation
Middle Irish mutation
RadicalLenitionNasalization
caratcharatcarat
pronounced with /ɡ(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.