Managing editor and logophile Andy Hollandbeck reveals the generally stunning roots of widespread English phrases and phrases. Keep in mind: Etymology tells us the place a phrase comes from, however not what it means at this time.

Within the Mediterranean and Center East grows the carob tree, whose seeds are shaped inside hanging pods. From a sure angle, these pods appear to be little horns. In historic Greece, the phrase for an animal’s horn was keras, so that they referred to as the seeds that got here out of those “horns” keration, actually “little horn.”

One notable facet of the carob seed is that, from tree to tree, the load of the seed is kind of constant. Due to that consistency, carob seeds grew to become a typical software within the historic world for weighing small portions — like, for instance, small gem stones. The observe grew to become so widespread that the phrase keration took on the second which means of “a small weight.”

From the Greek root, Arabic merchants referred to as carob pods qirat and unfold the idea and the phrase additional. In Medieval Latin, one among these “little weights” was referred to as a carratus; in Italian, carato; and in Outdated French, carat — the shape that, within the late fifteenth century, discovered its manner into the English language.

In the present day, gemstone weight remains to be measured in carats, although the precise seeds aren’t used a lot anymore. The carat was standardized at 200 milligrams, or one-fifth of a gram, in 1907. However lengthy earlier than that standardization, carat took one other flip.

Again within the early 4th century, Constantine the Nice launched a brand new gold coin referred to as the solidus. By that point, coin-making had improved to the purpose that the load of those cash, which had been solid from comparatively pure gold, could possibly be maintained pretty constantly. These solidus cash weighed 4.5 grams or, measured within the carat weight of the time (about 190 mg), 24 carats.

Thus the carat got here to be related to gold, and particularly with 1/24 of a selected gold coin — and extra usually as only a 1/24 portion. However this was nonetheless a measure of weight: 1 carat = 1/24 solidus (the coin, just like the carob seed, additionally gave its title to a unit of measure). However as a result of the solidus coin was thought-about pure gold, it and its 24 carats grew to become a superb comparability software to precise ranges of gold purity.

A bit of pure gold, then, grew to become 24-carat gold. As a result of gold is a gentle metallic, it’s typically blended with different metals to create a stronger alloy for jewellery. A standard purity stage in fashionable gold jewellery is 14-carat gold, which signifies that the alloy is 14 elements pure gold and 10 elements different metals.

The carat as a gold purity customary really made it into the English language earlier than the older weight measurement — within the late 1400s, a few century earlier than the gemstone measurement. It makes a sure sense, although: Diamonds are fairly uncommon in Britain, however gold has been mined in Wales because the time of the Roman occupation, so a gold purity customary can be extra helpful and mandatory.

Which leaves us with one remaining anomaly: karat with a ok. That’s a purely American invention. In many of the world, the carat is used for each gold purity and gemstone weight, however American jewelers — because the mid-1850s — use the alternate spelling karat because the unit of measure for gold purity.

If in case you have a tough time remembering which is which, bear in mind “The 4 C’s” — an idea you’ve in all probability heard in case you’ve ever shopped for a diamond ring. Developed within the Nineteen Forties by Robert Shipley, founding father of the Gemological Institute of America, The 4 Cs gave jewelers and prospects alike a method to speak in regards to the high quality of a diamond or different gemstone. The 4 Cs are cut, clarity, color, and — most necessary right here — carat weight. If you happen to can keep in mind that it isn’t “The Three Cs and One Ok,” you possibly can keep in mind that carat is a measure of gemstone weight and karat signifies gold purity.