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Word: clew (lookup usage) (lookup stats)


Meaning:

Noun:

  • archaic A ball of thread or yarn.
  • in plural The sheets so attached to a sail.
  • in plural The cords suspending a hammock.
  • 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 '''clew''' is the trailing corner relative to the wind direction.
  • obsolete A roughly spherical mass or body.
  • Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue.

Source: Wiktionary | Src Info »

Verb:

  • nautical ''(transitive and intransitive)'' to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)
  • transitive to roll into a ball

Source: Wiktionary | Src Info »