Etymograph

English

clue

Clue comes from English clew ‘a ball of thread or yarn’, from Old English clēowen ‘ball’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glew- ‘to ball up’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*glew-‘to ball up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kliuwīnąreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kliuwīn‘ball’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150clēowen‘ball’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clew
  6. English1500–presentsame form‘a ball of thread or yarn’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1864clue

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*glew-‘to ball up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kliuwīnąreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kliuwīn‘ball’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150clēowen‘ball’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clew
  6. English1500–presentsame form‘a ball of thread or yarn’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1864clue

Earliest quotation: 1864, John McNeill Boyd, A Manual for Naval Cadets: “If the lee-side of the sail were clued up,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *glew- ‘to ball up, clump together’

clutch, 1 more

Today it means

noun A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *glew- / clue

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