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AARDWOLF
Definition of AARDWOLF
noun
A nocturnal, insectivorous mammal (Proteles cristatus), having yellowish fur with vertical black stripes, and a long mane down the midline of the neck and back; it is related to and resembles the hyena, and is native to eastern and southern Africa.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Another sense
AARDWOLF carries a second meaning.
noun
A mammal (Proteles cristatus) of southern and eastern Africa, similar to a hyena but feeding mainly on termites and insect larvae.
Where it comes from
Borrowed from South African Dutch aardwolf (whence Afrikaans aardwolf), from aard- (prefix meaning ‘earth’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”), probably from the fact that the animal rests in burrows in the ground during the day) + wolf (“wolf”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos (“wolf”)), influenced by English wolf (the second element of aardwolf is pronounced like that word, and one plural form is aardwolves; the Dutch plural form is aardwolven).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
9%
of traced words share this origin (2,608)
How it is built
Its etymology also names Afrikaans.
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
AARDWOLF in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 47 boards so far. 179 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 26, 15 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 144, 11 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 40, 29 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
AARDWOLF starts with A and ends with F. Sorted, its letters read AADFLORW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A appears more than once, including a double letter.
Also seen on Day 26
Could you have found AARDWOLF?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 26 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER