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FUSTIAN
Definition of FUSTIAN
noun
Originally, a kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; now, a kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff with a short pile and often dyed a dull colour, which is chiefly prepared for menswear.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
FUSTIAN carries 4 further meanings.
noun
A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and linen or flax.
noun
Any of several thick twilled cotton fabrics, such as corduroy, having a short nap.
noun
Pretentious speech or writing; pompous language.
adjective
Made of or as if of fustian.
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Middle English fustian (“type of fabric, probably made from cotton, flax, or wool; piece of fustian spread over a bed or mattress”) [and other forms], from Old French fustaine, fustaigne (modern French futaine), from Medieval Latin fūstāneum, from (pannus) fūstāneus or (tela) fūstānea, of disputed origin. Sense 3 (“inflated, pompous, or pretentious speech or writing”) is possibly from the fact that the fabric was sometimes used to make cushion- and pillowcases, thus suggesting that the speech or writing is “padded” or “stuffed”; compare bombast. The relationship between sense 4 (“hot drink made of a mixture of alcoholic beverages with egg yolk, lemon, and spices”) and the fabric is unclear. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
FUSTIAN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 47 boards so far. 104 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 23, 12 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 107, 4 September 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 27, 16 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
FUSTIAN starts with F and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AFINSTU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that mean much the same
Near-synonyms of FUSTIAN. Not interchangeable at the board - the grid decides that - but close in meaning.
Same letters, different word
3 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start FUSTIA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 23
Could you have found FUSTIAN?
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 23 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER