Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A unit of weight for precious stones, equal to 200 milligrams.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To try or refine (gold).
  • noun An Arabian coin of base silver, current in Mecca, Medina, and Mocha.
  • noun An old weight equal to a scruple, or the twenty-fourth part of an ounce troy.
  • noun A unit of mass formerly used in various countries for weighing gold.
  • noun Hence A twenty-fourth part: specifically used in expressing the fineness of gold when used as jewelry.
  • noun A unit of weight for precious stones, divided by jewelers into 4 grains, called diamond-grains, but equal to about 3⅙ troy grains, 151½ English carats being taken as equal to an ounce troy.
  • noun Often abbreviated car. or K.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The weight by which precious stones and pearls are weighed.
  • noun A twenty-fourth part; -- a term used in estimating the proportionate fineness of gold.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams.
  • noun Formerly, any of several units of weight, varying from 189 to 212 mg, the weight of a carob seed.
  • noun A measure of the purity of gold, pure gold being 24 carats.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the unit of measurement for the proportion of gold in an alloy; 18-karat gold is 75% gold; 24-karat gold is pure gold
  • noun a unit of weight for precious stones = 200 mg

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin quarātus, from Arabic qīrāṭ, a measure of weight, from Greek kerātion, carob pod, a measure of weight (originally defined in reference to a dried carob seed), from diminutive of keras, kerāt-, horn (from the pod's shape ); see ker- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle French carat, from Italian carato, from Arabic قيراط (qirāṭ, "husk"), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (keration, "carob seed"), diminutive form of κέρας (keras, "horn").

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Examples

  • A carat is 1/5 of a gram and about the size of a pink pearl eraser on a number-two pencil.

    The Ekati Diamond Mine - Success in Canada's North 2003

  • The first of these is referred to as the carat, which is a measurement of the weight.

    Article Source 2009

  • - A carat is the unit of measure used to gauge the weight of precious stones, including diamonds.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2006

  • Cibao, from which the mines of Cibao are named, whence comes that famous gold, superior in carat, which is held in great esteem here.

    Bartholomew de Las Casas; his life, apostolate, and writings Francis Augustus MacNutt

  • It is critical that you consider the carat weight of the gold jewellery you are considering and when comparing costs, ensure you are comparing fourteen carat gold jewellery, and not twelve carat, which is even less pure.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

  • It is critical that you consider the carat weight of the gold jewellery you are considering and when comparing costs, ensure you are comparing fourteen carat gold jewellery, and not twelve carat, which is even less pure.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

  • It is critical that you consider the carat weight of the gold jewellery you are considering and when comparing costs, ensure you are comparing fourteen carat gold jewellery, and not twelve carat, which is even less pure.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

  • It is critical that you consider the carat weight of the gold jewellery you are considering and when comparing costs, ensure you are comparing fourteen carat gold jewellery, and not twelve carat, which is even less pure.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

  • It is critical that you consider the carat weight of the gold jewellery you are considering and when comparing costs, ensure you are comparing fourteen carat gold jewellery, and not twelve carat, which is even less pure.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

  • It is critical that you consider the carat weight of the gold jewellery you are considering and when comparing costs, ensure you are comparing fourteen carat gold jewellery, and not twelve carat, which is even less pure.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

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