Often a light colour (3)
I believe the answer is:
red
'colour' is the definition.
(I know that red is a type of colour)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for red that I've seen before include "Colour for a blusher" , "- Cross; - carpet" , "Crimson" , "Colour of Merlot wine" , "Very angry, seeing this" .)