Other

clew

Syllabification: (clew)

Pronunciation: /klo͞o/

Definition of clew

noun

1 Sailing the lower or after corner of a sail.

2 (clews) the cords by which a hammock is suspended.
(clew) a ball of thread (used especially with reference to the thread supposedly used by Theseus to mark his way out of the Cretan labyrinth).

3archaic variant of clue.

verb

[with object] (clew a sail up)

haul up the clews of a sail to the yard or into the mast ready for furling.
(clew a sail down) lower an upper square sail by hauling down on the clew lines while slacking away on the halyard.

Origin:

Old English cliwen, cleowen (denoting a rounded mass, also a ball of thread), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kluwen. All senses are also recorded for the form clue

clew in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of clew in the British & World English dictionary

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