PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
No. The oldest reviewed sense is a ball of thread. The guiding and evidence senses develop from stories in which a thread leads someone through a difficult place.
/kluː/ · noun · verb
A ball of thread, a nautical corner or line, and the older spelling behind clue.
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
Separates the literal thread-ball sense from the guiding metaphor and later clue spelling.
Did You Know?; First Known UseThe dossier keeps clew and clue connected while separating literal ancestry from later metaphor.