A small upside-down V-shaped symbol (^) used in writing to show where something should be inserted or to mark a correction.
From Latin 'caret' (it lacks, is absent), the third person singular of 'carere' (to lack). This was used by proofreaders and scribes to mark places where text was missing, literally saying 'here is lacking [something]'.
This word is a surviving piece of Latin used by proofreaders—every time you use a caret to show where to add text, you're literally using a 2,000-year-old Latin word meaning 'is lacking,' showing how specialized vocabularies preserve dead languages.
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