Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Karaite \Ka"ra*ite\, n. [Heb. q[=a]r[=a] to read.] (Eccl. Hist.)
   A sect of Jews who adhere closely to the letter of the
   Scriptures, rejecting the oral law, and allowing the Talmud
   no binding authority; -- opposed to the {Rabbinists}.