clue English · revision 28

+ ==Etymology==

+ A later spelling of [[clew]] “ball of thread or yarn”,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) [[inh|enm|clewe]],^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) [[inh|ang|clēowen|t=ball, sphere; skein]],^(Wiktionary) ultimately [[der|ine-pro|*glew-|t=to ball up, clump together]].^(Wiktionary)

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+ The modern sense comes from the ball of thread that Ariadne gave Theseus to find his way out of the Labyrinth.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) The purely figurative sense “that which points the way” dates from the 1620s.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''-ue'' arose when Middle English ''-ew'' words from French were respelled ''-ue'' and the change spread to native words such as ''hue'' and ''true''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}