The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
MELANIN
Definition of MELANIN
noun
Any of a group of naturally occurring dark pigments, especially the pigment found in skin, hair, fur, and feathers.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From New Latin, from Ancient Greek stem of μέλας (mélas, “black”) + -in; by surface analysis, melan- + -in.
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 (3,724)
branch · 12.6% 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.
MELANIN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 145, 12 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 6 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 145, 12 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MELANIN starts with M and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AEILMNN - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. N 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 MELANI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found MELANIN?
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 145 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER