What is "carat"

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.

also karat, mid-15c., from Middle French carat "measure of the fineness of gold" (14c.), from Italian carato or Medieval Latin carratus, both from Arabic qirat "fruit of the carob tree," also "weight of 4 grains," from Greek keration "carob seed," also the name of a small weight of measure (one-third obol), literally "little horn" diminutive of keras "horn" (see kerato-).\n

\nCarob beans were a standard for weighing small quantities. As a measure of diamond weight, from 1570s in English. The Greek measure was the equivalent of the Roman siliqua, which was one-twentyfourth of a golden solidus of Constantine; hence karat took on a sense of "a proportion of one twentyfourth" and became a measure of gold purity (1550s). Eighteen carat gold is eighteen parts gold, six parts alloy. It is unlikely that the classical carat ever was a measure of weight for gold.

n. 1 A unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams. 2 Formerly, 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.

1. n. 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 is an abstract tile laying German style board game designed by Dirk Henn and published in 1993 by Queen Games and db Spiele. In 2004, after the success of Alhambra, Queen Games released an updated version of the game with an Arabian theme called Die Gärten der Alhambra.

The carat (ct) is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 g; 0.007055 oz) and is used for measuring gemstones and pearls. The current definition, sometimes known as the metric carat, was adopted in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, and soon afterwards in many countries around the world. The carat is divisible into one hundred points of two milligrams each. Other subdivisions, and slightly different mass values, have been used in the past in different locations.

In terms of diamonds, a paragon is a flawless stone of at least 100 carats (20 g).

The ANSI X.12 EDI standard abbreviation for the carat is CD.

Carat, karat, karet or karot may refer to:

In jewelry making:

• Carat (mass), a unit of mass for gemstones, equal to 0.2 gram
• Karat, a unit for measuring the fineness of gold

In Aviation

• SDB Karat, a Russian ultralight trike design

In Judaism:

• Kareth or Karet, a biblical punishment decreed by Heaven (from the Hebrew verb karat "to cut off")

In entertainment:

• Carat (board game), an abstract tile-based German-style board game
• Karat (band), a rock band from East Germany

In media and advertising:

• Carat, Sifow's 3rd single
• Carat UK, UK advertising agency

People:

• Prakash Karat, Indian politician, General Secretary (2005-) of Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• Brinda Karat, Indian politician, Member of Parliament
• KARAT, a KGB codeword for former FBI Agent & convicted spy Robert Hanssen

Places:

• Karat, Hormozgan, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran
• Karat, Khuzestan, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran
• Karat, Razavi Khorasan, a village in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran
• Karat Rural District, an administrative subdivision of Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran
• Karot, Pakistan village in the Punjab, Pakistan

Military:

• Programme CARAT, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, annual held naval exercise of the armed forces the United States, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Other:

• Karat banana, a cultivated variety or group of cultivated varieties of banana found in the Pacific Islands
• Karat (airline), an airline in Russia
• AMS Carat, a motorized sailplane
• Karat, an early Agfa cartridge for 35 mm film