clue (English)

Where does "clue" come from?

The English word clue originated as a variant of 'clew', meaning 'a ball of thread or yarn'[1]. This descended from Middle English 'clewe', which came from Old English 'clīewen' meaning 'ball'[1]. Further back, the lineage traces through Proto-West Germanic '*kliuwīn' and Proto-Germanic '*kliuwīną'[1]. These derive from Proto-Indo-European '*glew-', meaning 'to amass, conglomerate; clump, ball, bale'[1]. The modern meaning evolved with reference to the ball of thread that, according to myth, Theseus used to guide himself out of the labyrinth[1].

Open questions

The Proto-Indo-European root is reconstructed as an extension of the base '*gel-'. [2]

Full etymology tree

clue (English), 'A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide.'
- derived clew (English), 'A roughly spherical mass or body.'
  - inherited clewe (Middle English), 'A clew (“lump or sphere of thread or yarn”).'
    - inherited cliewen (Old English), 'sphere, ball; skein'
      - inherited *kliuwīn (Proto-West Germanic), 'ball, clump'
        inherited *kliuwīną (Proto-Germanic)
        inherited *glew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to ball up, clump together'
        derived *gel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be cold, to freeze'

Ancestors

*glew- (Proto-Indo-European)
clewe (Middle English)
cliewen (Old English)
*kliuwīn (Proto-West Germanic)

Descendants and derived words

cluebat (English)
cluebie (English)
clue-by-four (English)
clue card (English)
clueful (English)
clueless (English)
cluelike (English)
clue stick (English)
cluestick (English)
cluey (English)
context clue (English)
get a clue (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris