What does karate literally mean?

Answer 1

There are two ways of translating the kanji that write out "karate"

China Hand - Referring to the facts that parts of the system were developed in China and combined with the Okinawa system to create Karate
Empty Hand = refering to the fact that you use no weapon but fists

The karate masters in the 1920s got together and agreed that they would go with the use of Empty Hand.