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car⋅at
[kar-uh
t] 
| 1. | a unit of weight in gemstones, 200 milligrams (about 3 grains of troy or avoirdupois weight). Abbreviation: c., ct. |
| 2. | karat. |
1545–55; < ML carratus (used by alchemists) < Ar qīrāṭ weight of 4 grains < Gk kerátion carob bean, weight of 3 1/3 grains, lit., little horn, equiv. to kerat- (s. of kéras) horn + -ion dim. suffix
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| car·at (kār'ət) n. Abbr. c or car.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin quarātus, from Arabic qīrāṭ, weight of four grains, from Greek kerātion, a weight, diminutive of keras, kerāt-, horn; see ker-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
| kar·at also car·at (kār'ət) n. Abbr. k or kt. A unit of measure for the fineness of gold, equal to 1/24 part. Pure gold is 24 karat; gold that is 50 percent pure is 12 karat. [Variant of carat.] |
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Carat
Car"at\ (k[a^]r"[a^]t), n. [F. carat (cf. It. carato, OPg. quirate, Pg. & Sp. quilate), Ar. q[imac]r[=a]t bean or pea shell, a weight of four grains, a carat, fr. Gr. kera`tion a little horn, the fruit of the carob tree, a weight, a carat. See Horn.]1. The weight by which precious stones and pearls are weighed. Note: The carat equals three and one fifth grains Troy, and is divided into four grains, sometimes called carat grains. Diamonds and other precious stones are estimated by carats and fractions of carats, and pearls, usually, by carat grains. --Tiffany. 2. A twenty-fourth part; -- a term used in estimating the proportionate fineness of gold. Note: A mass of metal is said to be so many carats fine, according to the number of twenty-fourths of pure gold which it contains; as, 22 carats fine (goldsmith's standard) = 22 parts of gold, 1 of copper, and 1 of silver.Cite This Source
carat
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carat
unit of weight for diamonds and certain other precious gems. Before 1913 the weight of a carat varied in different gem centres. Originally based on the weight of grains or leguminous seeds, which, of course, varied in size from place to place, the carat was equivalent to 0.2053 gram (3.168 troy grains) in London, 0.1972 g in Florence, and 0.2057 g in Amsterdam. The weight of a gemstone was calculated in terms of whole carats plus fractions (12, 14, 18, 116, 132, or 164) of a carat; thus, a stone might be said to weigh 3 + 14 + 116 carats. After various unsuccessful attempts to standardize the carat, the metric carat, equal to 0.200 g, and the point, equal to 0.01 carat, were adopted by the United States in 1913 and subsequently by most other countries. The weights of diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, aquamarine, garnet, tourmaline, zircon, spinel, and sometimes opal and pearl are expressed in carats
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