Also 8 karata. [? Of Carib origin: the name is mentioned in 1667 by Du Tertre, Hist. Antilles (Hatz.-Darm.).] A West Indian and South American plant (Bromelia Karatas), allied to the pine-apple, and yielding a valuable fiber; silk-grass.
1727–41. Chambers, Cycl., Karata, by some called caraguata maca, a kind of aloe growing in America.
1768. Miller, Gard. Dict., Karatas, the wild Ananas or Penguin…. This plant is very common in the West Indies, where the juice of its fruit is often put into punch, being of a sharp acid flavour.
1848. in Craig; also in later dicts.
