claret

[ klar-it ]

See synonyms for: claret clarets on Thesaurus.com

noun

the red table wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France: originally it was light red or yellowish.
a similar wine made elsewhere.

Also called claret red . a deep purplish red.
Slang. blood.

adjective

deep purplish-red.

Origin of claret

1350–1400; Middle English <Anglo-French, Middle French claret, cleret, alteration, by suffix substitution, of Old French claré wine mixed with honey and herbs or spices <Medieval Latin clarātum, equivalent to Latin clār(us) clear + -ātus-ate¹

Words Nearby claret

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use claret in a sentence

claret for boys, port for men, and brandy for heroes, according to Dr. Johnson, and Hitch went for the heroic.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
claret, now synonymous with fine red Bordeaux, derives from the Latin word for “clear” and “pale-colored.”
Summer in a Glass: Everything’s Coming Up Rosés | Jordan Salcito | June 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mrs. Buller cooked a braised saddle of veal and delicious it was too served with a rich gravy flavored with claret.
A Real-Life ‘Downton Abbey’ Affair | Margaret Powell | January 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
And so the battle opens, and for many mortal hours, amid rounds of claret, rages over and over again.
Little Travels and Roadside Sketches | William Makepeace Thackeray
It annoys me dreadfully: and yet if I take a glass of claret, I have a headache the next day!
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis Stevenson

The dinner was well dressed, and the Madeira and claret (the only wines produced), of the best quality.
Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
He was far from a great eater, and I never noticed him drink anything at dinner but claret, which is not an intoxicating beverage.
Reminiscences of Charles Bradlaugh | George W. Foote
But he was pleased, nevertheless; and presently he asked me, not unamiably, to punish his claret again.
In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for claret

claret

/ (ˈklærət) /

noun

mainly British a red wine, esp one from the Bordeaux district of France
- a purplish-red colour
- (as adjective): a claret carpet

Origin of claret

C14: from Old French (vin) claret clear (wine), from Medieval Latin clārātum, from clārāre to make clear, from Latin clārus clear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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