# clew

> English word · Noun · IPA /kluː/

## Definitions
1. A roughly spherical mass or body.
2. A ball of thread or yarn.
3. Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue.
4. 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.
5. The sheets so attached to a sail.
6. The cords suspending a hammock.
7. Obsolete spelling of clue.

## Etymology
From Middle English clewe, from Old English cleowen, cliewen, cliwen (“sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group”), from Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną, *klewô (“ball, bale”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale”). Akin to Old English clǣġ (“clay”). Doublet of knawel.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clew