▪ I. † ˈclary, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 3–6 clare, 4 clarree, clerrey, clerre, 4–6 clarre, clarry, 5 clareye, clerye, 5–6 clarey, 6 clarie, 7 claree, 6– clary.
[ME. claré, a. OF. claré:—L. type clārātum (see Du Cange), a ppl. form, lit. ‘that which is cleared or clarified’. Claretum also occurs in later med.L. (f. Fr.), whence claret n.1 in the same sense.]
A sweet liquor consisting of a mixture of wine, clarified honey, and various spices, as pepper and ginger. Also (rarely) clary wine.
(See Recipe ‘To make clarre’ from Sloane MS. 2584 lf. 173, quoted in Promp. Parv. 79; also in Househ. Ord. 473. App. only a historical term since the 16th c.)
| c 1300 Havelok 1728 Pyment to drinke, and god clare, Win hwit and red, ful god plente. c 1300 K. Alis. 7582 Wyn and pyment gan they schenche And wyne clarrè and wyne greek. c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 16 No man yit in the morter spices grond To clarre ne to sawse of galentyne. c 1386 ― Knt.'s T. 613. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 1578 A cup of gold befor hir stoode Ful of clarre wyne ful goode. c 1450 Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 573 Claretum, clareye. 1530 Palsgr. 205/2 Clarry wyne, cleré. 1591 Percyvall Sp. Dict., Clarea, clarie, drinke of hony and wine, mulsum. 1654 Gayton Fest. Notes iv. ix. 233 A lusty dish of egs and Clar-ee. 1672 Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 203 Bishop Bonner lov'd it like Clary and Eggs. 1700 Congreve Way of World iv. v, The most noble spirit of clary. 1829 Southey Sir T. More (1831) II. 286 Almost as obsolete as metheglin, hippocras, clary or morat! |
▪ II. clary, n.2
(ˈklɛərɪ)
Forms: (1 slarie, slareᵹe), 6 clarey, -rye, -rry, 6–7 clare, clarie, cleare- (cleere-) -eie, -eye, 5– clary.
[In OE. slarie, slareᵹe; in 16th c. claré, clarie, evidently representing the med.L. sclarea, in mod.F. sclarée, though the loss of s is not actually explained. Sclarea occurs in Matthioli, and Turner (1548); Lobel (1576) has ‘scarlea, Ger. scharlach, Belg. scarleye, It. sciaria [Florio has schiarea], Angl. clarye’; Pritzel and Jensen, Deutschen Volksnamen Pflanz. 359, give OHG. scaraleia, later scarleia, scharleya, scarleye; Gerard has scarlea, sclarea; scariola is also given by some as a med.L. synonym, and has been suggested as the original form of the word. But the evidence of the OE. vocabulary and Leechdoms supports the antiquity of sclarea, without throwing any light upon its origin or history. In the 16th c. clarey was solved by the apothecaries into clair-ye, clear-eye, translated Oculus christi, Godes-eie, and See-bright, and eye-salves made of it (Prior), on the strength of this supposed derivation.]
1. a. A labiate plant, Salvia Sclarea, a native of the south of Europe, Syria, etc., cultivated in English gardens as a pot-herb. Also, with qualifications, the name of other species of Salvia, as Horminum Clary (S. Horminum), Meadow Clary (S. pratensis), Vervain or Wild Clary (S. Verbenaca): the last two are British plants, and one of them may be the plant of the OE. quotations.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 58 Eft ᵹenim wiþ hwostan..slarian godne dæl. a 1100 O.E. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 322 Sclaregia, slareᵹe. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 342 Clary, peppur long, with granorum paradysy. 1538 Turner Libellus s.v. Orminum, A nostris arbitror dici Clare aut wylde clare. 1548 ― Names Herbes, Orminum is called in english Clarie, in duche Scharlach..some cal thys herbe sclaream. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. lxxix. 253 Clarie is now called..in English Clarye, or Cleare-eye, quasi dicas oculum clarificans. 1601 Chester Love's Mart. xiii. (1878) 83 To proceed, heres Clary or Cleare-eie. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden xxiii. 47 Another Plant, whose name doth demonstrate, that it is good for the Eyes is, Clary, quasi Clear Eye, because the Seed put into the Eyes, doth clear them..The wild sort is known by the name of Oculus Christi. a 1659 Cleveland Against Ale iv, May he that brews thee wear a Nose Richer than..The Sattin Clerry or the Velvet Rose. 1736 Yalden Poet. Wks. (1833) 66 And clary steep in bowls of mellow wine. 1794 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xii. 126 Wild Clary has the leaves serrate. 1796 C. Marshall Garden xiv. (1813) 265 Clary..is used also in soups, and is very odorous. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. IV. 147 Meadow Sage or Clary..has wrinkled leaves, and large purple flowers. |
b. Applied to other plants, app. because they were considered good for the eyes, e.g. Celandine (Chelidonium majus), and species of Fennel.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 103 Clarye herb, heraclia. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Chelidoine ou estlere, an herbe called Clarie. |
2. attrib. and Comb., as clary-flower, clary-fritter, clary-leaf, etc.; clary-water, -wine, a sweet cordial or medicinal drink made from clary-flowers.
| 1728 E. Smith Compleat Housewife 230 The fine Clary-water. Ibid. 211 To make Clary-Wine... Malaga raisins..the tops of clary, when it is in blossom. 1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ix. 82 To make Clarye Fritters. Take your Clarye-leaves..dip them one by one in a Batter..fry them quick. 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Water, Clary-Water is composed of brandy, sugar, clary-flowers, and cinnamon, with a little ambergrise dissolved in it. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 161 To make Clary Fritters. 1858 Hughes Scouring White Horse 20 Bottles of home-made wine, clary, and raisin. 1861 Delamer Kitch. Gard. 125 Clary wine, made from the flowers, was the favourite mode of administering it. |
▪ III. † ˈclary, v. Obs.
[app. f. clarion, or the early clarine, but the form is abnormal; no corresponding word appears in F. or Romanic.]
To clarion.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 79 Claryn' wythe a claryone [1499 claryyn], clango. c 1475 Burlesque in Rel. Ant. I. 86 The fox fedylde, therto claryide the catte. 1587 Golding tr. Solinus xiv. (T.), The crane that goeth before..if aught be to be avoyded, gives warning thereof by clarying. |