The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
METHYL
Definition of METHYL
noun
The univalent hydrocarbon radical, CH3-, formally derived from methane by the loss of a hydrogen atom; a compound or part of a compound formed by the attachment of such a radical.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from German Methyl; compare French méthyle. French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot, after determining methanol's chemical structure, introduced "methylene" from the Ancient Greek μέθυ (méthu, “wine”) + ὕλη (húlē, “wood, material”) with the intention of highlighting its origins, "alcohol made from wood (substance)". The term "methyl" was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from "methylene", and was then applied to describe "methyl alcohol".
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- French
- German
- English
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,854)
branch · 12.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, METHYL · 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.
METHYL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 46 boards so far. 62 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 9, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 152, 19 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First found by a player on Day 9, 29 May 2026.
Built from these letters
METHYL starts with M and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read EHLMTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start METHYL
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 9
Could you have found METHYL?
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 9 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER