clew
noun 1 the lower or after corner of a sail. 2 (clews) Nautical the cords by which a hammock is suspended. verb (clew a sail up/down) draw a sail up or let it down by the clews when preparing for furling or when unfurling. ORIGIN originally denoting a ball of thread: related to CLUE.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
|