carat Hear it!

carat definition

carat (kar′ət)

noun

  1. a unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equal to 3.0864 grains (200 milligrams): abbrev. C
  2. karat

Etymology: Fr < It carato < Ar qīrāt, pod, husk, weight of 4 grains < Gr keration, little horn, carob seed, carat, dim. of keras, horn

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.