clew

[kloo] /klu/
noun
1.
clue (def 1).
2.
Nautical. either lower corner of a square sail or the after lower corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
3.
a ball or skein of thread, yarn, etc.
4.
Usually, clews. the rigging for a hammock.
5.
Theater. a metal device holding scenery lines controlled by one weighted line.
6.
Classical Mythology. the thread by which Theseus found his way out of the labyrinth.
verb (used with object)
7.
to coil into a ball.
8.
clue (def 3).
9.
Theater.
  1. to draw up the bottom edge of (a curtain, drop, etc.) and fold out of view; bag.
  2. to secure (lines) with a clew.
Verb phrases
10.
clew down, Nautical. to secure (a sail) in an unfurled position.
11.
clew up, Nautical. to haul (the lower corners of a square-rig sail) up to the yard by means of the clew lines.
Idioms
12.
spread a large clew, Nautical.
  1. to carry a large amount of sail.
  2. to present an impressive appearance.
Origin
before 900; Middle English clewe, Old English cleowen, cliewen, equivalent to cliew- (cognate with Old High German kliu ball) + -en -en5; akin to Dutch kluwen
Examples from the web for clew
  • The bowsprit also mounts a traveler for the forestaysail club, which can be run out from deck to tighten the clew.
  • Every effort was made to gain a clew to the swindlers, but without success.
  • The tracks of the robber were found, but they afforded no definite clew.
British Dictionary definitions for clew

clew

/kluː/
noun
1.
a ball of thread, yarn, or twine
2.
(nautical) either of the lower corners of a square sail or the after lower corner of a fore-and-aft sail
3.
(usually pl) the rigging of a hammock
4.
a rare variant of clue
verb
5.
(transitive) to coil or roll into a ball
Word Origin
Old English cliewen (vb); related to Old High German kliu ball
Word Origin and History for clew
n.

"ball of thread or yarn," northern English and Scottish relic of Old English cliewen "sphere, ball, skein, ball of thread or yarn," probably from West Germanic *kleuwin (cf. Old Saxon cleuwin, Dutch kluwen), from Proto-Germanic *kliwjo-, from PIE *gleu- "gather into a mass, conglomerate" (see clay).