Where does “karat” come from?

karat (Indonesian) comes from Malay karat, from English carat, from Middle French carat, from Italian carato, from Arabic قِيرَاط, from Ancient Greek κεράτιον, from Ancient Greek κέρας, from Proto-Hellenic *kérats.

karat (Indonesian): rust

Definitions

  1. rust

Ancestry of “karat”, step by step

karat traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay karat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaykaratrust
2EnglishcaratA unit of weight for precious stones and pearls,...
3Middle Frenchcaratcarat (measure of purity of gold)
4Italiancaratocarat; share; first-person singular present...
5Arabicقِيرَاطcarat; husk
6Ancient Greekκεράτιονsmall horn; carat, 1⁄1728 of a pound; a Byzantine...
7Ancient Greekκέραςhorn; horn as a material, or anything made of...
8Proto-Hellenic*kérats

via Dutch karaat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchkaraatcarat
2Greekkeration

via Javanese ꦏꦫꦠ꧀

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Javaneseꦏꦫꦠ꧀
2Old Javanese[[karat]], [[*kĕrĕt]], [[*krĕt]]

Words derived from “karat

Every word from Proto-Hellenic *kératsEvery word from Ancient Greek κέραςEvery word from Ancient Greek κεράτιον