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ELSE
Definition of ELSE
adjective
Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English ells, elles, from Old English elles (“other, otherwise, different”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljas, from Proto-Germanic *aljas (“of another, of something else”), genitive of *aljaz (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos, from *h₂el- (“other”). Cognate with Old Frisian elles (“other”), Old High German elles, ellies (“other”), Danish eller (“or”), Danish ellers (“otherwise”), Swedish eljes, eljest (“or else, otherwise”), Norwegian elles (“else, otherwise”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (aljis, “other”), Latin alius (“other, another”), Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos), Arcadocypriot αἶλος (aîlos), modern Greek αλλιώς (alliós, “otherwise, else”), Proto-Slavic *olni.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
9%
of traced words share this origin (2,584)
How it is built
Its etymology also names Ancient Greek, Danish, Latin, Norwegian, Proto-Slavic, Swedish.
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.
ELSE in OUTLIER
It has fitted 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 76, 4 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 138, 5 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 4 days.
First found by a player on Day 55, 14 July 2026.
Built from these letters
ELSE starts with E and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read EELS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
5 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start ELSE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found ELSE?
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 76 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER