The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
POLYNYA
Definition of POLYNYA
noun
A naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Russian полынья́ (polynʹjá, “polynya”) in the 1850s, from Middle Russian полыньѧ (polynʹja) (att. in 1639), from полыи (polyi, “open from above, uncovered; hollow”), whence also Russian полый (polyj, “hollow”), from Old East Slavic полъ (polŭ, “uncovered”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). The rare plural form polynyi is borrowed from Russian полыньи́ (polynʹí).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Russian
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
20th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
0.4%
of traced words share this origin (376)
branch · 0.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, POLYNYA · 4 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Proto-Indo-European.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
POLYNYA in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 161, 28 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 8 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 161, 28 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
POLYNYA starts with P and ends with A. Sorted, its letters read ALNOPYY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. Y appears more than once.
Words that start POLYNY
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found POLYNYA?
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 161 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER