Where does “clue” come from?
Clue comes from English clew, a ball of thread or yarn whose metaphorical extension to mean a guide or hint led to the modern sense of evidence aiding investigation.
clue (English): A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one...
Definitions
- A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one...
Ancestry of “clue”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | clew | A roughly spherical mass or body; A ball of... |
| 2 | Middle English | clew | Alternative form of clewe |
| 3 | Old English | clēowen | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kliuwiną | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | glew- | Alternative form of *gley-; to amass,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵel- | to swallow; swallow |
Words derived from “clue”