Adjacent Words

Carat definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CARAT, n.
1. The weight of four grains, used by gold-smiths and jewelers in weighing precious stones and pearls.
2. The weight that expresses the fineness of gold. The whole mass of gold is divided into 24 equal parts, and as many 24th parts as it contains of pure gold, it is called gold of so many carats. Thus gold of twenty-two parts of pure metal, is gold of twenty-two carats. The carat in Great Britain is divided into four grains; among the Germans into twelve parts; and among the French into thirty-two.
3. The value of any thing.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a unit of weight for precious stones = 200 mg
2: the unit of measurement for the proportion of gold in an alloy; 18-karat gold is 75% gold; 24-karat gold is pure gold [syn: karat, carat, kt]

Merriam Webster's

I. variant of karat II. noun Etymology: Middle English carrat measure of fineness in gold, from Middle French carat measure of fineness in gold or of weight in gems, from Italian carato, from Arabic q?r?? bean pod, a small weight, from Greek keration carob bean, a small weight, from diminutive of kerat-, keras horn — more at horn Date: 1555 a unit of weight for precious stones equal to 200 milligrams

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a unit of weight for precious stones, now equivalent to 200 milligrams. 2 (US karat) a measure of purity of gold, pure gold being 24 carats. Etymology: F f. It. carato f. Arab. kirat weight of four grains, f. Gk keration fruit of the carob (dimin. of keras horn)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(carats) 1. A carat is a unit for measuring the weight of diamonds and other precious stones. It is equal to 0.2 grams. The gemstone is 28.6 millimetres high and weighs 139.43 carats. ...a huge eight-carat diamond. N-COUNT: usu num N 2. Carat is used after a number to indicate how pure gold is. The purest gold is 24-carat gold. ...a 14-carat gold fountain pen. COMB in ADJ