carat=قيراط

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carat=قيراط

ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY:

carat (n.)

mid-15c., from Middle French carat "measure of the fineness of gold" (14c.), from Italian carato, from Arabic qirat "pod, husk, weight of 4 grains," from Greek keration "carob seed," lit. "little horn" diminutive of keras "horn" (see kerato-).

Carob beans were a standard for weighing small quantities. As a measure of diamond weight, from 1570s. The Greek measure was the equivalent of the Roman siliqua, which was one-twentyfourth of a golden solidus of Constantine; hence the word 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 was ever a measure of weight for gold.

Etymology/WICTIONARY

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

Noun

carat (plural carats)

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.