Caret

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkæɹ.ɪt/

Definitions

1. A symbol used by editors to show where additional text should be inserted ; a small raised block or wedge-shaped mark used in printed or typed text to indicate insertion or correction
2. An editorial notation that points out the need for adding words or letters in writing ; a typographic character shaped like a small point or wedge standing upright
3. A mark placed between lines of text to denote insertion of material during proofreading ; a printing or typographic sign in the form of a small raised wedge or stroke

Etymology: Its Latin source is a verb form with a plain, almost legal flavour. "Caret" is the third-person singular present of "carere", meaning "it lacks" or "there is a lack of". That is why a proofreader's mark in the margin reads as a little statement of absence: the mark tells the typesetter that something is missing at that spot and should be inserted there. The word passed through French, where it was taken over as "caret" with the same sense, before arriving in English. Its path into the language runs through the French of the printing and writing trades rather than through the older Latin texts. The Latin verb it grew out of is the same root that gives English "career", "deficit" and "careful"? No: "careful" comes from a different root and should be disregarded; the reliable relative here is the verb "carere" itself, which also gives English words of absence such as "deficient".

Synonyms: mark, indicator, sign