system of unarmed combat using hands and feet, 1947, Japanese, literally "empty hand, bare hand," from kara "empty" + te "hand." As a verb from 1963. A devotee is a karateka. Karate-chop (n.) is attested from 1964.

1854, spelling variant of carat (q.v.). In U.S., karat is used for "proportion of fine gold in an alloy" and carat for "measure of weight of a precious stone."