Middle English clew / clewe survives as Modern English clew with loss of inflection and stabilized spelling.
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP RECORD
COVERAGE LEDGER ↗EDGE / 0364inheritanceestablished
A CLAIM
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A relationship—not a generated explanation. Both endpoints, every editorial field, every citation, and every dossier reuse are preserved below.
clew
a ball of thread; a guiding clue; a nautical corner, loop, or line
OPEN NODE 393 ↗DESCENDS FROM→
PARENT / EARLIER FORM / attestedMiddle English · c. 1300–1600sclew
a ball of thread or yarn
OPEN NODE 26 ↗01
THE COMPLETE RELATIONSHIP
EVERY FIELD, NOT A FAIRY TALE
The literal thread-ball sense survives; nautical senses develop from the corner or fastening of a sail and the guiding spelling clue diverges later.
The modern spelling overlaps chronologically with the historical evidence sense.
Merriam-Webster · American Heritage editors
established — no additional confidence note is attached.
reviewed
02
CITATION REGISTER
SOURCES ON THIS EDGE
Clew — Definition, Word History, and First Known UseDefinitions; Did You Know?; Word History: Etymology
supportsAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Documents the surviving literal and nautical senses and the Middle English to Old English line.
American Heritage Dictionary: clewHeadword clew; etymology
contextAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Independently publishes the Middle English and Old English ancestry.
03
EDITORIAL REUSE