clew Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a ball of yarn or cord or thread
  2. noun evidence that helps to solve a problem
    cue; clue.
  3. verb roll into a ball
    clue.

WordNet

Clew, Clue noun (Also<
  • Clew
  • Clue
)
Etymology
OE. clewe, clowe, clue, AS. cleowen, cliwen, clywe ball of thread; akin to D. kluwen, OHG. chliwa, chliuwa, G. dim. kleuel, knäuel, and perch. to L. gluma hull, husk, Skr. glaus sort of ball or tumor. Perch. akin to E. claw. *26. Cf. Knawel.
Definitions
  1. A ball of thread, yarn, or cord; also, The thread itself.
    Untwisting his deceitful clew. Spenser.
  2. That which guides or directs one in anything of a doubtful or intricate nature; that which gives a hint in the solution of a mystery.
    The clew, without which it was perilous to enter the vast and intricate maze of countinental politics, was in his hands. Macaulay.
  3. (Naut.) (a.) A lower corner of a square sail, or the after corner of a fore-and-aft sail. (b.) A loop and thimbles at the corner of a sail. (c.) A combination of lines or nettles by which a hammock is suspended.
Clew transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. D. kluwenen. See Clew, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle & verbal noun Clewing
Definitions
  1. To direct; to guide, as by a thread. Obs.
    Direct and clew me out the way to happiness. Beau. && Fl.
  2. (Naut.) To move of draw (a sail or yard) by means of the clew garnets, clew lines, etc.; esp. to draw up the clews of a square sail to the yard.

Webster 1913