quilate

English

Etymology

From Spanish and Portuguese quilate, from Arabic قِيرَاط (qīrāṭ, “carat”), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (kerátion, “hornlet, carob seed”). Doublet of carat, karat, and ceratium.

Noun

quilate (plural quilates)

1. (historical) Synonym of carat in historical Iberian contexts.

Coordinate terms

• (unit of mass): grao (¹⁄₄ quilate), vintem (⁹⁄₁₆ quilate), escropulo (6 quilates), oitava (18 quilates), onça (144 quilates)

Galician

Alternative forms

• quirate

Etymology

From Arabic قِيرَاط (qīrāṭ), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (kerátion).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kiˈlatɪ]

Noun

quilate m (plural quilates)

1. carat (unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams)
2. carat (measure of the purity of gold)

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “quilate”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kiˈla.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kiˈla.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kiˈla.te/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kiˈla.tɨ/

• Hyphenation: qui‧la‧te

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic قِيرَاط (qīrāṭ), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (kerátion). Cognate with Galician and Spanish quilate.

Noun

quilate m (plural quilates)

1. metric carat, unit of mass for precious stones and pearls, equal to 200 mg
2. (historical) carat, traditional unit of mass for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to about 199 mg
3. carat, 24-part measure of the purity of gold
4. (figurative) excellence, superlative quality

Coordinate terms

• (unit of mass): grão (¹⁄₄ quilate), vintém (⁵⁄₁₆ quilate), escrópulo (6 quilates), oitava (18 quilates), onça (144 quilates)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

quilate

1. inflection of quilatar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kiˈlate/ [kiˈla.t̪e]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ate
• Syllabification: qui‧la‧te

Etymology 1

From Arabic قِيرَاط (qīrāṭ), from Ancient Greek κεράτιον (kerátion).

Noun

quilate m (plural quilates)

1. karat, carat

Derived terms

• aquilatar

 

Descendants

• → Basque: kilate
• → Tagalog: kilatis

Etymology 2

Verb

quilate

1. inflection of quilatar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “quilate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28