The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
RUNE
Definition of RUNE
noun
A letter, or character, used in the written language of various ancient Germanic peoples, especially the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Old Norse rún, which is from Proto-Germanic *rūnō (“letter, literature, secret”), which is borrowed either from Proto-Celtic *rūnā or from the same source as it; compare Dutch rune, German Rune, Raune, Danish rune and Swedish runa. Compare roun.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Proto-Germanic
- Old Norse
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
4.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,679)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, RUNE · 4 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Danish, Dutch, Swedish.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
RUNE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 45 boards so far. 85 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 19, 8 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 152, 19 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 19, 8 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
RUNE starts with R and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read ENRU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start RUNE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 19
Could you have found RUNE?
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 19 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER