clue (English)
Where does "clue" come from?
The English verb 'clue' is a variant of 'clew', originating from Middle English 'clewe' and Old English 'clīewen', which meant 'ball'[1][5]. These earlier terms trace back through Proto-West Germanic '*kliuwīn' and Proto-Germanic '*kliuwīną' to the Proto-Indo-European root '*glew-', meaning 'to amass, conglomerate; clump, ball, bale'[1]. The modern sense evolved with reference to the ball of thread that, in mythology, Theseus used to guide himself out of the Minotaur's labyrinth[1].
Open questions
- The Proto-Indo-European root '*glew-' is reconstructed as an extension of '*gel-', meaning 'to ball up, clump'. [2]
Full etymology tree
- clue (English), 'To provide with a clue.'
- 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'
- inherited *kliuwīną (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *kliuwīn (Proto-West Germanic), 'ball, clump'
- inherited cliewen (Old English), 'sphere, ball; skein'
- inherited clewe (Middle English), 'A clew (“lump or sphere of thread or yarn”).'
- derived clew (English), 'A roughly spherical mass or body.'
Ancestors
- *glew- (Proto-Indo-European)
- clewe (Middle English)
- cliewen (Old English)
- *kliuwīn (Proto-West Germanic)
Descendants and derived words
- clued up (English)
- clue in (English)
- clue up (English)
Sources
- clue (English) - Wiktionary
- glew- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- clewe (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- cliewen (Old English) - Wiktionary
- clew (English) - Wiktionary
- klewô (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris