The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
DREIDEL
Definition of DREIDEL
noun
A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
9%
of traced words share this origin (2,616)
How it is built
Same root, DREIDEL · 1 relative 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.
DREIDEL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 131, 28 September 2026. The most recent board was Day 145, 12 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First found by a player on Day 131, 28 September 2026.
Built from these letters
DREIDEL starts with D and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read DDEEILR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. D and E appear more than once.
Could you have found DREIDEL?
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 131 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER