KING

Where it comes from

From Middle English king, kyng, kynge, from Old English cening, cing, cining, cuning, cyncg, cyneg, cyng, cyngc, cynig, cyning, king, kining, kuning, kyning, kyningc (“king”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuning, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz, *kunungaz (“king”), from *kunją (“clan, family, kin”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to produce; to beget”). Equivalent to kin + -ing. Doublet of cyning and knez. Cognate with Yola king, kinge (“king”), North Frisian kining, köning (“king”), Saterland Frisian Kening, König, Köänig (“king”), West Frisian kening (“king”), Alemannic German Chüng, Künig (“king”), Bavarian Kini (“king”), Central Franconian Künning (“king”), Cimbrian khuuneg (“king”), Dutch koning (“king”), German König (“king”), Luxembourgish Kinnek (“king”), Vilamovian kyng (“king”), Yiddish קעניג (kenig), קיניג (kinig, “king”), Danish kong, konge, konning (“king”), Elfdalian kunungg (“king”), Faroese kongur (“king”), Icelandic kóngur, konungur (“king”), Norwegian Bokmål konge (“king”), Norwegian Nynorsk konge (“king”), Scanian káng (“king”), Swedish konung, kung (“king”), Latgalian and Latvian kungs (“gentlemen”), Lithuanian kunigas (“priest”), Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian князь (knjazʹ, “prince; duke”), Bulgarian кнез (knez), княз (knjaz, “prince”), Czech kněz (“priest”), kníže (“prince”), Macedonian кнез (knez, “prince”), Polish ksiądz, xiądz (“priest; prince”), Serbo-Croatian кне̑з, knȇz (“prince”), Slovak kňaz (“priest”), knieža (“prince”), Slovene knez (“prince”), Estonian and Finnish kuningas (“king”), Ingrian kunigas, kunikas, kuningas (“king”), Veps kunigaz (“king”), Votic kunikõz (“king”), Võro kuning (“king”), Inari Sami kunâgâs (“king”), Kildin Sami коа̄нгэсс (kåångess), ко̄нгэс (kōnges, “bridegroom; king”), Lule Sami and Pite Sami gånågis (“king”), Northern Sami gonagas (“king”), Skolt Sami koonǥõs (“king”), Ter Sami конагас (konâgas, “king”); also Breton genel (“to bear”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic gin (“birth; fetus; offspring”), Welsh geni (“to be born”), Latin genō (“to bear, beget; to produce, yield”), Greek γενεά (geneá), γενιά (geniá, “ancestry, kin; generation”), Albanian dhen, dhën (“caprids, small livestock”), Lithuanian žentas (“son-in-law”), Belarusian зяць (zjacʹ, “brother-in-law; son-in-law”), Bulgarian and Macedonian зет (zet, “brother-in-law; son-in-law”), Czech zeť (“son-in-law”), Polish zięć (“son-on-law”), Russian зять (zjatʹ, “brother-in-law; son-in-law”), Serbo-Croatian зе̏т, zȅt (“brother-in-law; son-in-law”), Slovak zať (“son-in-law”), Slovene zet (“son-in-law”), Ukrainian зєть (zjetʹ), зять (zjatʹ, “brother-in-law; son-in-law”), Armenian ծնել (cnel, “to bear”), Avestan 𐬰𐬄𐬚𐬀𐬭 (ząθar, “father, progenitor; Creator”), Pashto زېږېدل (zeǵedël, “to be born”), Persian زادن (zādan / zâdan), زاییدن (zāyīdan / zâyidan, “to give birth”), Sanskrit जनति (janati, “to beget, create, produce; to assign, procure”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English roy (“king”) (Early Modern English roy), borrowed from Old French rei, roi, roy (“king”). The verb is inherited from Middle English kingen, kyngen (“to perform the duties of a king”), itself from the noun.

Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).

KING in OUTLIER

It has fitted 5 boards so far. 19 players have found it across Outlier's history.

It first turned up on Day 2, 23 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 105, 2 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.

First found by a player on Day 10, 30 May 2026.

Built from these letters

KING starts with K and ends with G. Sorted, its letters read GIKN - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.

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 KING

Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.

Also seen on Day 2