Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A dry red wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France.
  • noun A similar wine made elsewhere.
  • noun A dark or grayish purplish red to dark purplish pink.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Clear; clearish: applied to wine.
  • Having the color of claret wine.
  • noun The name given in English to the red wines of France, particularly to those of Bordeaux, but excluding Burgundy wines. In France the name clairet is given only to thin or poor wines of a light-red color.
  • noun Any similar red wine, wherever made: as, California claret.
  • noun Blood.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The name first given in England to the red wines of Médoc, in France, and afterwards extended to all the red Bordeaux wines. The name is also given to similar wines made in the United States.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun chiefly UK A dry red wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France, or a similar wine made elsewhere.
  • noun A deep purplish-red colour, like that of the wine.
  • adjective Of a deep purplish-red colour, like that of claret.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun dry red Bordeaux or Bordeaux-like wine
  • noun a dark purplish-red color
  • verb drink claret

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, light-colored wine, from Old French (vin) claret, diminutive of clair, clear, from Latin clārus; see clear.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from Middle French claret.

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Examples

  • A "grandfather" provision allows wineries already using the term claret to continue to do so, but it must now conform to "the trade understanding of such class and type."

    The Seattle Times 2010

  • He will be fetching old claret from the cellar in no time!

    Jackson just wanted to say hello... 2007

  • They will drink their wretched heartless stuff, such as they call claret, or wine of Medoc, or Bordeaux, or what not, with no more meaning than sour rennet, stirred with the pulp from the cider press, and strained through the cap of our Betty.

    Lorna Doone Richard Doddridge 2004

  • They will drink their wretched heartless stuff, such as they call claret, or wine of Medoc, or Bordeaux, or what not, with no more meaning than sour rennet, stirred with the pulp from the cider press, and strained through the cap of our Betty.

    Lorna Doone; a Romance of Exmoor 1862

  • -- The word claret seems to me to be the same as the French word _clairet_, both adjective and substantive; as a substantive it means a low and cheap sort of _claret_, sold in France, and drawn from the barrel like beer in England; as an adjective it is a diminutive of _clair_, and implies that the wine is transparent.

    Notes and Queries, Number 186, May 21, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. Various 1852

  • The drink was the same fiery distillation that was known as claret, sherry, brandy, rum, whisky, or whatever else a role might call for.

    Hokas Pokas Anderson, Poul 2000

  • It was really an admirable little dinner; the claret was a famous one from the Anglemere cellars, and warmed to a nicety; the coffee was perfection; Sparling's ministrations left nothing to be desired; and yet Drake sank into his easy-chair after the meal with a sigh that was weary and wistful.

    Nell, of Shorne Mills or, One Heart's Burden Charles Garvice

  • Experiment has convinced me that the slight amount of alcohol I imbibe in my claret is a grateful stimulus to digestion.

    Study and Stimulants; Or, the Use of Intoxicants and Narcotics in Relation to Intellectual Life Alfred Arthur Reade

  • All those wines called in England clarets are the produce of the country round Bordeaux, or the Bordelais; but it is remarkable that there is no pure wine in France known by the name of claret, which is a corruption of clairet, a term that is applied there to any red or rose-coloured wine.

    The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861

  • All those wines called in England clarets are the produce of the country round Bordeaux, or the Bordelais; but it is remarkable that there is no pure wine in France known by the name of claret, which is a corruption of clairet, a term that is applied there to any red or rose-coloured wine.

    The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861

Comments

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  • "Did you know that the bill for a celebration party for the 55 drafters of the US Constitution was for 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, 8 bottles of whiskey, 22 bottles of port, 8 bottles of hard cider, 12 beers and seven bowls of alcohol punch large enough that 'ducks could swim in them'?"

    Sommelier India, Posted at July 2, 2008, seen here.

    Sounds like a party!

    January 31, 2009

  • No wonder their handwriting was so awful. ;->

    January 31, 2009

  • I wanna know what kind of ducks.

    January 31, 2009

  • Punchducks.

    January 31, 2009

  • Here's one!

    February 1, 2009

  • Gosh. Why weren't you a private detective, reesetee?

    February 1, 2009

  • They weren't so think as you drunk they were....

    Go Steelers.

    February 1, 2009

  • Whoever said I wasn't, bilby?

    February 1, 2009