See Also: clew(1)(dictionary)
clew(2)(dictionary)
Clew - Sailing(gambling)

clew(1) (iou)



clew noun. [klu:] See also CLUE noun.
[Old English cliwen, cleowen = Middle Low German, Dutch kluwen, from base also of Old High German kliuwa, kliuwi ball, sphere, prob. ult. rel. to CLAW noun1.]
A globular body; a rounded mass. OE-L18.
b. A round bunch or cluster. E17-E18.
A ball of thread or yarn. arch. OE.
spec.
a. A ball of yarn etc. used to trace a path through a maze (as in the Greek myth of Theseus in the Labyrinth); a thing which guides through perplexity, a difficult investigation, an intricate structure, etc. LME.
b. = CLUE noun 4a. E18.
The mythological thread of life spun by the Fates. E17.
Nautical. The lower or after corner of a sail. (Earlier as CLUE noun 2.) E17.
Nautical. The series of cords by which a hammock is suspended. M18.
Comb.: clew-garnet Nautical a tackle to clew up the courses or lower square-sails in furling; clew-line Nautical a tackle connecting the clew of a sail to the upper yard or mast; occas. = clew-garnet above.