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NAUPLIUS
Definition of NAUPLIUS
noun
A crustacean larva that has three pairs of locomotive organs (corresponding to antennules, antennae, and mandibles), a median eye, and little or no segmentation of the body.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from New Latin Nauplius (former genus name) (coined by Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller (1730–1784) who mistakenly thought the larvae were a separate genus of animal), from Latin nauplius (“argonaut, paper nautilus (genus Argonauta)”), from Ancient Greek ναύπλιος (naúplios, “type of shellfish”), from ναῦς (naûs, “ship”) + πλέω (pléō, “to sail”); compare Latin Nauplius (“mythological king of Euboea”), from Ancient Greek Ναύπλιος (Naúplios, “mythological founder of the city of Nauplia (Nafplio), a son of Poseidon and Amymone”). The plural nauplii is from Latin nauplius + -iī (plural of -ius).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- Danish
- Latin
- English
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.4%
of traced words share this origin (10,337)
branch · 12.4% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, NAUPLIUS · 3 relatives 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.
NAUPLIUS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 6 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 97, 25 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 158, 25 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 10 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 97, 25 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
NAUPLIUS starts with N and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read AILNPSUU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. U appears more than once.
Words that start NAUPLI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found NAUPLIUS?
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 97 - and most players walked straight past it.
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