Cley

name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A claw. obsolete

    "But that more heavy Birds are otherwise provided for defence, namely either by Spurs that grow on their Legs, or by the strength and sharpness of some single cley in their Foot; as I have observed in the Cassoware or Emeu"

  2. 2
    Alternative spelling of clay. alt-of, alternative
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Ellipsis of Cley next the Sea: a coastal village and civil parish in North Norfolk district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TG0443). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Synonyms

All synonyms
cley next the sea

Example

More examples

"But that more heavy Birds are otherwise provided for defence, namely either by Spurs that grow on their Legs, or by the strength and sharpness of some single cley in their Foot; as I have observed in the Cassoware or Emeu"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English cle, clea, from Old English clēa (“claw”) (where the oblique forms > English claw).

Etymology 2

From Middle English cley, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.