Claret comes from Old French (vin) claret ('clear, light-colored wine'), from cler/clair ('clear'), from Latin clarus ('clear, bright'). The historical trail runs through claret in Old French and clarus in Latin. Used as a noun and adjective, claret now means "a dry red Bordeaux wine, or its deep purplish-red color", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as clarify, clarity, and clear. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.