The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SHAWL
Definition of SHAWL
noun
A square or rectangular piece of cloth worn as a covering for the head, neck, and shoulders, typically by women.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi शाल (śāl) / Urdu شال (śāl)), from Classical Persian شال (šāl). Doublet of sari through Sanskrit.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
19th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
0.6%
of traced words share this origin (163)
branch · 0.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, SHAWL · 2 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Sanskrit.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SHAWL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 43 boards so far. 72 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 8, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 148, 15 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 8, 29 May 2026.
Built from these letters
SHAWL starts with S and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read AHLSW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start SHAWL
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 8
Could you have found SHAWL?
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 8 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER