clew

English

/kluː/, /kljuː/

noun
Definitions
  • (obsolete) A roughly spherical mass or body.
  • (archaic) A ball of thread or yarn.
  • Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue.
  • (nautical) The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. (on a triangular sail) The trailing corner relative to the wind direction.
  • (in the plural) The sheets so attached to a sail.
  • (nautical) The cords suspending a hammock.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English clewe inherited from Old English cleowen inherited from Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną derived from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (ball up, lump, mass, conglomerate, ball, clump, bale, amass, gather into a mass), *glew- (ball up, lump, mass, conglomerate, ball, clump, bale, amass, gather into a mass).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*glew-

Gloss

ball up, lump, mass, conglomerate, ball, clump, bale, amass, gather into a mass

Concept
Semantic Field

Spatial relations

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

玉

Emoji
⚽️ ⚾️ ⛳️ ⛹️ ⛹️‍♀️ ⛹️‍♂️ 🍙 🎊 🎱 🎳 🎾 🏀 🏈 🏉 🏌️ 🏏 🏐 🏑 🏓 🔮 🤾 🥍 🥎 🧶

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms