_Claret_ (Vol. vii., p. 237.).--The word _claret_ is evidently derived
directly from the French word _clairet_; which is used, even at the present
day, as a generic name for the "_vins ordinaires_," of a light and thin
quality, grown in the south of France. The name is never applied but to red
wines; and it is very doubtful whether it takes its appellation from any
place, being always used adjectively--"_vin clairet_," not _vin_ de
_clairet_. I am perhaps not quite correct in stating, that the word is
always used as an adjective; for we sometimes find _clairet_ used alone as
a substantive; but I conceive that in this case the word _vin_ is to be
understood, as we say "du Bordeaux," "du Champagne," meaning "du vin de
Bordeaux," "du vin de Champagne." _Eau clairette_ is the name given to a
sort of cherry-brandy; and lapidaries apply the name _clairette_ to a
precious stone, the colour of which is not so deep as it ought to be. This
latter fact may lead one to suppose that the wine derived its name from
being _clearer_ and lighter in colour than the more full-bodied vines of
the south. The word is constantly occurring in old drinking-songs. A song
of Olivier Basselin, the minstrel of Vire, begins with these words:
"Beau nez, dont les rubis out coute mainte pipe
De vin blanc et clairet."
By the way, this song is the original of one in the musical drama of _Jack
Sheppard_, which many of the readers of "N. & Q." may remember, as it
became rather popular at the time. It began thus:
"Jolly nose, the bright gems that illumine thy tip,
Were dug from the mines of Canary."