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APHELION
Definition of APHELION
noun
The point in the elliptical orbit of a comet, planet, or other astronomical object, where it is farthest from the Sun.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
APHELION carries 4 further meanings.
noun
The point on the orbit of a celestial body that is farthest from the sun.
noun
That point of a planet's or of a comet's orbit which is most distant from the sun: opposed to perihelion.
noun
That point of a planet's or comet's orbit which is most distant from the sun, the opposite point being the perihelion.
noun
The point in the elliptical orbit of a planet, comet, etc., where it is farthest from the sun.
Where it comes from
From New Latin aphēlium (whence English aphelium, now displaced) + -ion (used in the names of other apsides). Aphelium was formed from Ancient Greek ἀπο- (apo-, prefix meaning ‘away, from, off’) + ἥλῐος (hḗlĭos, “the sun”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“the sun”)), modelled after New Latin apogaeum (“apogee”). The plural form aphelia is from aphelion + -a (plural form of the suffix -on).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
14.2%
of traced words share this origin (11,700)
How it is built
Same root, APHELION · 2 relatives in the game
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.
APHELION in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 72 boards so far. 144 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 29, 18 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 165, 1 November 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 29, 18 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
APHELION starts with A and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AEHILNOP - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start APHELI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 29
Could you have found APHELION?
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 29 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER