See clew in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for clew meaning in English (17.2kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "clewe"
},
"expansion": "Middle English clewe",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "cleowen"
},
"expansion": "Old English cleowen",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliewen"
},
"expansion": "cliewen",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliwen",
"3": "",
"4": "sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group"
},
"expansion": "cliwen (“sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*kliuwiną"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "gem-pro",
"2": "*klewô",
"3": "",
"4": "ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "*klewô (“ball, bale”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-",
"4": "",
"5": "to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "clǣġ",
"3": "",
"4": "clay"
},
"expansion": "Old English clǣġ (“clay”)",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).",
"forms": [
{
"form": "clews",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "clew (plural clews)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "c. 1600, Charles Estienne and Jean Liebault, tr. Richard Surflet, Maison Rustique, or, The Countrie Farme",
"text": "If the whole troupe be diuided into many clewes, or round bunches, you need not then doubt but that there are many kings."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A roughly spherical mass or body."
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-mDIn1KCi",
"raw_glosses": [
"(obsolete) A roughly spherical mass or body."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "98 0 1 0 0 0 0",
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "kǎlbo",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"word": "кълбо"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 0 1 0 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"word": "kerä"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 0 1 0 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"word": "pallero"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 0 1 0 0 0 0",
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ceirtlín"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1831, Victor Hugo, translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood, The Hunchback of Notre Dame",
"text": "A rare, precious, and never interrupted race of philosophers to whom wisdom, like another Ariadne, seems to have given a clew of thread which they have been walking along unwinding since the beginning of the world, through the labyrinth of human affairs.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1889, Andrew Lang, “The story of Prince Ahmed and the fairy Paribanou”, in The Blue Fairy Book",
"text": "The Fairy Paribanou was at that time very hard at work, and, as she had several clews of thread by her, she took up one, and, presenting it to Prince Ahmed, said: \"First take this clew of thread...",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1962, Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire",
"text": "on one side of her lay a pair of carpet slippers and on the other a ball of red wool, the leading filament of which she would tug at every now and then with the immemorial elbow jerk of a Zemblan knitter to give a turn to her yarn clew and slacken the thread.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A ball of thread or yarn."
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-en:yarn",
"links": [
[
"thread",
"thread"
],
[
"yarn",
"yarn"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic) A ball of thread or yarn."
],
"senseid": [
"en:yarn"
],
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "be",
"lang": "Belarusian",
"roman": "klubók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "клубо́к"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "kǎlbo",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "кълбо"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "lankakerä"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "kerä"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"neuter"
],
"word": "Knäuel"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "mítos",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "μίτος"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "gombolyag"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ceirtlín"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "kkuri",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "꾸리"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "kkureomi",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "꾸러미"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "nøste"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "pa",
"lang": "Punjabi",
"roman": "pinnā",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ਪਿੰਨਾ"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "klubók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "клубо́к"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "motók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "мото́к"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "nystan"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "yumak"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 88 12 0 0 0 0",
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "klubók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "клубо́к"
}
]
},
{
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "1 5 77 1 2 2 12",
"sense": "thread used to guide through a maze, clue",
"word": "clewless"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue."
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-s1uo9POO",
"links": [
[
"Yarn",
"yarn"
],
[
"thread",
"thread"
],
[
"maze",
"maze"
],
[
"labyrinth",
"labyrinth"
],
[
"clue",
"clue"
]
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "1 12 74 2 1 2 9",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "yarn used to guide one's way through a maze, clue",
"word": "johtolanka"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 12 74 2 1 2 9",
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "yarn used to guide one's way through a maze, clue",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ariadnetråd"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 12 74 2 1 2 9",
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "yarn used to guide one's way through a maze, clue",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ledetråd"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Nautical",
"orig": "en:Nautical",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "2 4 6 36 3 24 7 4 14",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "2 3 6 34 3 22 6 4 13 2 6",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 69 30 0 0",
"sense": "lower corner of a sail",
"word": "bunt"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "0 2 2 76 16 2 1",
"sense": "lower corner of a sail, metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail",
"word": "clewline"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 2 2 76 16 2 1",
"sense": "lower corner of a sail, metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail",
"word": "full clew"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1858, Walter Mitchell, Tacking Ship Off Shore",
"text": "'Mid the rattle of blocks and the tramp of the crew,\nHisses the rain of the rushing squall;\nThe sails are aback from clew to clew,\nAnd now is the moment for \"MAINSAIL, HAUL!\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1858, The Atlantic Monthly, \"The Language of the Sea\"",
"text": "\"Clew\" is Saxon; \"garnet\" (from granato, a fruit) is Italian,—that is, the garnet- or pomegranate-shaped block fastened to the clew or corner of the courses, and hence the rope running through the block."
},
{
"ref": "1894, James Hudson Taylor, A Retrospect",
"text": "I went over and asked him to let down the clews or corners of the mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to lessen the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1901, John Conroy Hutcheson, The Ghost Ship",
"text": "Run aft, Haldane, and you too, Spokeshave. Loosen the bunt of the mizzen-trysail and haul at the clew. That’ll bring her up to the wind fast enough, if the sail only stands it!",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-YuUkVZEb",
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"lower",
"lower"
],
[
"corner",
"corner"
],
[
"sail",
"sail"
],
[
"sheet",
"sheet"
],
[
"trimming",
"trimming"
],
[
"metal",
"metal"
],
[
"loop",
"loop"
],
[
"cringle",
"cringle"
],
[
"trail",
"trail"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(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."
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "1 4 5 53 13 24 1",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"word": "skuuttikulma"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 4 5 53 13 24 1",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"word": "bugna"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 4 5 53 13 24 1",
"code": "ota",
"lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
"roman": "daman",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"word": "دامن"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 4 5 53 13 24 1",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "škótovyj úgol párusa",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шко́товый у́гол па́руса"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 4 7 43 28 16 2",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: sheet attached to this sail corner",
"word": "skuutti"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1913, John Masefield, Dauber",
"text": "The canvas running up in a proud sweep,\nWind-wrinkled at the clews, and white like lint,",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The sheets so attached to a sail."
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-DohnjIE9",
"raw_glosses": [
"(in the plural) The sheets so attached to a sail."
],
"tags": [
"in-plural"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Nautical",
"orig": "en:Nautical",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, Ralph W Danklefsen, The Navy I Remember, Xlibris, page 21",
"text": "He taught us how to attach the clews to the ends of the hammock and then lash it between jack stays.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The cords suspending a hammock."
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-d~HuR6Od",
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"cord",
"cord"
],
[
"suspend",
"suspend"
],
[
"hammock",
"hammock"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical, in the plural) The cords suspending a hammock."
],
"tags": [
"in-plural"
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 4 5 12 2 74 3",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: cords suspending a hammock",
"tags": [
"plural"
],
"word": "kiinnitysnarut"
}
]
},
{
"alt_of": [
{
"word": "clue"
}
],
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1766, Laurence Sterne, The Sermons of Mr. Yorick",
"text": "With this clew, let us endeavour to unravel this character of Herod as here given.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume III,1856, New York: Harper & Brothers, page 13",
"text": "The clew, without which it was perilous to enter the vast and intricate maze of Continental politics, was in his hands.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1864, Andrew Forrester, The Female Detective",
"text": "Now, the fact is, I had started because I thought I saw the end of a good clew.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1870, Edward Augustus Freeman, History of the Norman Conquest",
"text": "We may here have lighted on the clew to the great puzzle.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1910, “Duck Eats Yeast,”, in The Yakima Herald",
"text": "Telltale marks around the pan of yeast gave him a clew to the trouble.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1923, Robert Ervin Howard, Aha! or The Mystery of the Queen's Necklace",
"text": "And I brought the only clew to be found.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1926, Robertus Love, The Rise and Fall of Jesse James, University of Nebraska, published 1990",
"text": "Not often did Jesse James leave a clew to his identity when he galloped away from a crime of violence, back into the mysterious Nowhere whence he came.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1954, Robert Heinlein, The Star Beast, New English Library",
"text": "following the single clew that she must have gone off with a certain group of visitors from space; they knew what those visitors looked like but not from what part of the sky they came.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Obsolete spelling of clue"
],
"id": "en-clew-en-noun-T3OE0HvH",
"links": [
[
"clue",
"clue#English"
]
],
"tags": [
"alt-of",
"obsolete"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/kluː/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kluʊ̯/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kljuː/",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"rhymes": "-uː"
},
{
"homophone": "clue"
},
{
"homophone": "clou"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"en:clew"
],
"word": "clew"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "clewe"
},
"expansion": "Middle English clewe",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "cleowen"
},
"expansion": "Old English cleowen",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliewen"
},
"expansion": "cliewen",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliwen",
"3": "",
"4": "sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group"
},
"expansion": "cliwen (“sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*kliuwiną"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "gem-pro",
"2": "*klewô",
"3": "",
"4": "ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "*klewô (“ball, bale”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-",
"4": "",
"5": "to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "clǣġ",
"3": "",
"4": "clay"
},
"expansion": "Old English clǣġ (“clay”)",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).",
"forms": [
{
"form": "clews",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "clewing",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "clewed",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "clewed",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "clew (third-person singular simple present clews, present participle clewing, simple past and past participle clewed)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "clew-garnet"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "clef"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "clue"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"to roll into a ball"
],
"id": "en-clew-en-verb-q732OU1L",
"links": [
[
"roll",
"roll"
],
[
"ball",
"ball"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(transitive) to roll into a ball"
],
"tags": [
"transitive"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Nautical",
"orig": "en:Nautical",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"glosses": [
"(transitive and intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)"
],
"id": "en-clew-en-verb-ezR9D7qK",
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"raise",
"raise"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical) (transitive and intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)"
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/kluː/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kluʊ̯/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kljuː/",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"rhymes": "-uː"
},
{
"homophone": "clue"
},
{
"homophone": "clou"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"en:clew"
],
"word": "clew"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 1-syllable words",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old English",
"English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *glew-",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms inherited from Old English",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with homophones",
"English verbs",
"Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
"Middle English lemmas",
"Middle English nouns",
"Rhymes:English/uː",
"Rhymes:English/uː/1 syllable"
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"sense": "lower corner of a sail",
"word": "bunt"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"sense": "lower corner of a sail, metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail",
"word": "clewline"
},
{
"sense": "lower corner of a sail, metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail",
"word": "full clew"
},
{
"sense": "thread used to guide through a maze, clue",
"word": "clewless"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "clewe"
},
"expansion": "Middle English clewe",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "cleowen"
},
"expansion": "Old English cleowen",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliewen"
},
"expansion": "cliewen",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliwen",
"3": "",
"4": "sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group"
},
"expansion": "cliwen (“sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*kliuwiną"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "gem-pro",
"2": "*klewô",
"3": "",
"4": "ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "*klewô (“ball, bale”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-",
"4": "",
"5": "to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "clǣġ",
"3": "",
"4": "clay"
},
"expansion": "Old English clǣġ (“clay”)",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).",
"forms": [
{
"form": "clews",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "clew (plural clews)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with obsolete senses"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "c. 1600, Charles Estienne and Jean Liebault, tr. Richard Surflet, Maison Rustique, or, The Countrie Farme",
"text": "If the whole troupe be diuided into many clewes, or round bunches, you need not then doubt but that there are many kings."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A roughly spherical mass or body."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(obsolete) A roughly spherical mass or body."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with archaic senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1831, Victor Hugo, translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood, The Hunchback of Notre Dame",
"text": "A rare, precious, and never interrupted race of philosophers to whom wisdom, like another Ariadne, seems to have given a clew of thread which they have been walking along unwinding since the beginning of the world, through the labyrinth of human affairs.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1889, Andrew Lang, “The story of Prince Ahmed and the fairy Paribanou”, in The Blue Fairy Book",
"text": "The Fairy Paribanou was at that time very hard at work, and, as she had several clews of thread by her, she took up one, and, presenting it to Prince Ahmed, said: \"First take this clew of thread...",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1962, Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire",
"text": "on one side of her lay a pair of carpet slippers and on the other a ball of red wool, the leading filament of which she would tug at every now and then with the immemorial elbow jerk of a Zemblan knitter to give a turn to her yarn clew and slacken the thread.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A ball of thread or yarn."
],
"links": [
[
"thread",
"thread"
],
[
"yarn",
"yarn"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic) A ball of thread or yarn."
],
"senseid": [
"en:yarn"
],
"tags": [
"archaic"
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue."
],
"links": [
[
"Yarn",
"yarn"
],
[
"thread",
"thread"
],
[
"maze",
"maze"
],
[
"labyrinth",
"labyrinth"
],
[
"clue",
"clue"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"en:Nautical"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1858, Walter Mitchell, Tacking Ship Off Shore",
"text": "'Mid the rattle of blocks and the tramp of the crew,\nHisses the rain of the rushing squall;\nThe sails are aback from clew to clew,\nAnd now is the moment for \"MAINSAIL, HAUL!\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1858, The Atlantic Monthly, \"The Language of the Sea\"",
"text": "\"Clew\" is Saxon; \"garnet\" (from granato, a fruit) is Italian,—that is, the garnet- or pomegranate-shaped block fastened to the clew or corner of the courses, and hence the rope running through the block."
},
{
"ref": "1894, James Hudson Taylor, A Retrospect",
"text": "I went over and asked him to let down the clews or corners of the mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to lessen the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1901, John Conroy Hutcheson, The Ghost Ship",
"text": "Run aft, Haldane, and you too, Spokeshave. Loosen the bunt of the mizzen-trysail and haul at the clew. That’ll bring her up to the wind fast enough, if the sail only stands it!",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"lower",
"lower"
],
[
"corner",
"corner"
],
[
"sail",
"sail"
],
[
"sheet",
"sheet"
],
[
"trimming",
"trimming"
],
[
"metal",
"metal"
],
[
"loop",
"loop"
],
[
"cringle",
"cringle"
],
[
"trail",
"trail"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(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."
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1913, John Masefield, Dauber",
"text": "The canvas running up in a proud sweep,\nWind-wrinkled at the clews, and white like lint,",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The sheets so attached to a sail."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(in the plural) The sheets so attached to a sail."
],
"tags": [
"in-plural"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned",
"en:Nautical"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, Ralph W Danklefsen, The Navy I Remember, Xlibris, page 21",
"text": "He taught us how to attach the clews to the ends of the hammock and then lash it between jack stays.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The cords suspending a hammock."
],
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"cord",
"cord"
],
[
"suspend",
"suspend"
],
[
"hammock",
"hammock"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical, in the plural) The cords suspending a hammock."
],
"tags": [
"in-plural"
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
},
{
"alt_of": [
{
"word": "clue"
}
],
"categories": [
"English obsolete forms",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1766, Laurence Sterne, The Sermons of Mr. Yorick",
"text": "With this clew, let us endeavour to unravel this character of Herod as here given.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume III,1856, New York: Harper & Brothers, page 13",
"text": "The clew, without which it was perilous to enter the vast and intricate maze of Continental politics, was in his hands.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1864, Andrew Forrester, The Female Detective",
"text": "Now, the fact is, I had started because I thought I saw the end of a good clew.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1870, Edward Augustus Freeman, History of the Norman Conquest",
"text": "We may here have lighted on the clew to the great puzzle.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1910, “Duck Eats Yeast,”, in The Yakima Herald",
"text": "Telltale marks around the pan of yeast gave him a clew to the trouble.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1923, Robert Ervin Howard, Aha! or The Mystery of the Queen's Necklace",
"text": "And I brought the only clew to be found.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1926, Robertus Love, The Rise and Fall of Jesse James, University of Nebraska, published 1990",
"text": "Not often did Jesse James leave a clew to his identity when he galloped away from a crime of violence, back into the mysterious Nowhere whence he came.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1954, Robert Heinlein, The Star Beast, New English Library",
"text": "following the single clew that she must have gone off with a certain group of visitors from space; they knew what those visitors looked like but not from what part of the sky they came.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Obsolete spelling of clue"
],
"links": [
[
"clue",
"clue#English"
]
],
"tags": [
"alt-of",
"obsolete"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/kluː/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kluʊ̯/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kljuː/",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"rhymes": "-uː"
},
{
"homophone": "clue"
},
{
"homophone": "clou"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "kǎlbo",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"word": "кълбо"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"word": "kerä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"word": "pallero"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "roughly spherical mass or body",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ceirtlín"
},
{
"code": "be",
"lang": "Belarusian",
"roman": "klubók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "клубо́к"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "kǎlbo",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "кълбо"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "lankakerä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "kerä"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"neuter"
],
"word": "Knäuel"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "mítos",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "μίτος"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "gombolyag"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ceirtlín"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "kkuri",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "꾸리"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "kkureomi",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "꾸러미"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "nøste"
},
{
"code": "pa",
"lang": "Punjabi",
"roman": "pinnā",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ਪਿੰਨਾ"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "klubók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "клубо́к"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "motók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "мото́к"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "nystan"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"word": "yumak"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "klubók",
"sense": "ball of thread",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "клубо́к"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "yarn used to guide one's way through a maze, clue",
"word": "johtolanka"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "yarn used to guide one's way through a maze, clue",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ariadnetråd"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "yarn used to guide one's way through a maze, clue",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ledetråd"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"word": "skuuttikulma"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"word": "bugna"
},
{
"code": "ota",
"lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
"roman": "daman",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"word": "دامن"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "škótovyj úgol párusa",
"sense": "nautical: sail corner",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шко́товый у́гол па́руса"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: sheet attached to this sail corner",
"word": "skuutti"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: cords suspending a hammock",
"tags": [
"plural"
],
"word": "kiinnitysnarut"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"en:clew"
],
"word": "clew"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 1-syllable words",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old English",
"English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *glew-",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms inherited from Old English",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with homophones",
"English verbs",
"Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
"Middle English lemmas",
"Middle English nouns",
"Rhymes:English/uː",
"Rhymes:English/uː/1 syllable"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "clewe"
},
"expansion": "Middle English clewe",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "cleowen"
},
"expansion": "Old English cleowen",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliewen"
},
"expansion": "cliewen",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cliwen",
"3": "",
"4": "sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group"
},
"expansion": "cliwen (“sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*kliuwiną"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "gem-pro",
"2": "*klewô",
"3": "",
"4": "ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "*klewô (“ball, bale”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*glew-",
"4": "",
"5": "to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "clǣġ",
"3": "",
"4": "clay"
},
"expansion": "Old English clǣġ (“clay”)",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).",
"forms": [
{
"form": "clews",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "clewing",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "clewed",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "clewed",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "clew (third-person singular simple present clews, present participle clewing, simple past and past participle clewed)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "clew-garnet"
},
{
"word": "clef"
},
{
"word": "clue"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English transitive verbs"
],
"glosses": [
"to roll into a ball"
],
"links": [
[
"roll",
"roll"
],
[
"ball",
"ball"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(transitive) to roll into a ball"
],
"tags": [
"transitive"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"en:Nautical"
],
"glosses": [
"(transitive and intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)"
],
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"raise",
"raise"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical) (transitive and intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)"
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/kluː/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kluʊ̯/"
},
{
"ipa": "/kljuː/",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"rhymes": "-uː"
},
{
"homophone": "clue"
},
{
"homophone": "clou"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"en:clew"
],
"word": "clew"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.