It originated with the Chinese characters and was created in Okinawa.
Kara - empty, Te - hand But the symbols for empty and foreign were very similar in Okinawan and as a kind of strange joke, even though karate from Okinawa, it incorporated aspects of White Crane kung fu from China so it was nicknamed foreign hand, karate.
But now it just means empty, but not necessarily of weapons it means empty of wickedness and anger, Funikoshi (founder of modern Shotokan karate) described it as like a mirror reflects what lays before it...
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The word 'Karate' comes from the Chinese words "Tang Hand".
The meaning was later changed to "Empty Hand". Both the words are pronounced as 'Karate'.
Karate is a word from Okinawa. The characters originally meant China Hand. It is now translated as Empty hand, which sounds the same in Japanese.