The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
EXTERN
Definition of EXTERN
noun
A person affiliated with an institution in a lesser capacity, for example, as a non-resident or as a part-time affiliate. A day-scholar.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle French externe or its etymon Latin externus.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- Middle French
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.6%
of traced words share this origin (25,330)
branch · 30.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, EXTERN · 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.
EXTERN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 10 boards so far. 15 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 17, 6 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 157, 24 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 9 days.
First found by a player on Day 17, 6 June 2026.
Built from these letters
EXTERN starts with E and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read EENRTX - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once. It uses X - among the least common letters in written English.
Words that start EXTERN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 17
Could you have found EXTERN?
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 17 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER