carat

(kăr'ət)
n. (Abbr. c or car.)

1. A unit of weight for precious stones, equal to 200 milligrams.
2. Variant of karat.

[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.]

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Carat (American English karat) is a measure of the purity of gold; caret is a mark (λ) for showing an insertion in printing or writing.

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Cullinan Diamond

At more than 3,100 carats, the Cullinan diamond was the largest gem-quality diamond ever found. Named for Sir Thomas Cullinan, who owned the mine in South Africa where the gem was found, the Cullinan was sold to the government of Transvaal, which presented it to King Edward VII on his birthday, on this date in 1907. Later the stone was cut up into nine larger and nearly 100 smaller flawless stones. The largest is the 530-carat Star of Africa, one of the British crown jewels.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, November 9, 2007

For a list of words related to carat, see:

• Processes, Phenomena, Events, and Techniques - carat: unit of weight for diamonds or gemstones, equal to 200 mg (.007 ounce)
• Special Measures - carat: measure of weight for gemstones, equal to 206 milligrams (3 grains); measure of amount of gold per twenty-four parts of gold alloy
• Jewelry - carat: unit of weight for gemstones equal to 200 milligrams

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See words rhyming with "carat."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Carat.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - karat

Nederlands (Dutch)
karaat

Français (French)
n. - carat

Deutsch (German)
n. - Karat

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - καράτι

Italiano (Italian)
carato

Português (Portuguese)
n. - quilate (m)

Русский (Russian)
карат

Español (Spanish)
n. - quilate

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - karat

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
克拉

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 克拉

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 캐럿

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - カラット

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قيراط, وحدة وزن الأحجار الكريمه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קאראט (יחידת משקל)‬

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