The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ETHOLOGY
Definition of ETHOLOGY
noun
The scientific study of animalian behavior, especially that of nonhuman animals.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From the Latin ēthologia (“the art of depicting or imitating character”), from the Ancient Greek ἠθολογία (ēthología, “painting of character, especially by mimic gestures”), from ἠθολόγος (ēthológos, “painting character by mimic gestures”), from ἦθος (êthos, “character, especially moral character”). Equivalent to etho- + -logy.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- Latin
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,770)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ETHOLOGY · 1 relative in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
ETHOLOGY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 21 boards so far. 30 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 45, 4 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 149, 16 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First found by a player on Day 45, 4 July 2026.
Built from these letters
ETHOLOGY starts with E and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read EGHLOOTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once.
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 ETHOLO
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 45
Could you have found ETHOLOGY?
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 45 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER