unclew

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From un- +‎ clew.

Verb

[edit]

unclew (third-person singular simple present unclews, present participle unclewing, simple past and past participle unclewed)

  1. (archaic, transitive, also figurative) To unwind, unfold, unravel or untie.
    • 1830, George Payne Rainsford James, Darnley: Or, The Field of the Cloth of Gold:
      unclewing ropes and disentangling knots
    • 1877, Arthur Evans, Through Bosnia and the Herzegovina on Foot during the Insurrection, August and September 1875:
      unclewing the inmost mysteries of the bed-chamber
    • 1931, Francis van Wyck Mason, Captain Judas:
      unclew the topmost canvas, the skysails, and the brig's royals
  2. (archaic, transitive, figuratively) To undo; to ruin.

References

[edit]