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Clue

2 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means a piece of evidence or information that helps solve a mystery or problem
1
Stage 1 of 2
clew
Old English · medieval
"a ball of thread"
a ball of thread, recalling the thread Theseus used to escape the Minotaur's labyrinth
2
Stage 2 of 2
clue
English · 1600s
"a piece of evidence that helps solve a problem"
shifted from the literal thread to anything that guides one to a solution
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