The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
FRANCOLIN
Definition of FRANCOLIN
noun
Any of various terrestrial birds of several genera in family Phasianidae, principally in tribe Gallini.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From French francolin, from Italian francolino, of unknown origin.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
10th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
1.7%
of traced words share this origin (1,413)
branch · 12.8% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
FRANCOLIN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 2 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 139, 6 October 2026. The most recent board was Day 166, 2 November 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 6 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 139, 6 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
FRANCOLIN starts with F and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ACFILNNOR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. N appears more than once.
Words that start FRANCO
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found FRANCOLIN?
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 139 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER