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TAWNY

/ˈtɔːni/5 letters

Definition of TAWNY

adjective

Of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.

Wiktionary · CC BY-SA

Where it comes from

The adjective is derived from Middle English tauni, tawne (“having a brownish-orange colour”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman taune, tawné, and Old French tané, tanné, tanney (“of a tan colour”), an adjective use of the past participle of taner (“to turn hide into leather, tan”), from tan (“pulped oak bark used to tan leather, tanbark”), ultimately from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰnwos, *(s)dʰonu (“fir”). The -aw- spelling (also -au- in Middle English) seems to have been due to the pronunciation of Old French tané. The verb is derived from the adjective.

Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).

Word DNA

Line of descent

  1. Proto-Indo-European
  2. Old French
  3. Anglo-Norman
  4. Middle English
  5. English

4 recorded generations before English.

Proto-Indo-European

Deepest traced root

2nd

of 59 source languages in OUTLIER

14.4%

of traced words share this origin (11,223)

How it is built

adjective2 syllables

Same root, TAWNY · 7 relatives in the game

Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →

Rarity score
Withheld
Revealed only in play
Tier
Withheld
Find it yourself

OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.

TAWNY in OUTLIER

Players have found it on 79 boards so far. 319 players have found it across Outlier's history.

Day 1Day 157
Its 79 boards, across 157 finished boards · taller bars are busier boards
79
Boards found on
7
First board
157
Latest board
9
Longest gap, days

It first turned up on Day 7, 28 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 157, 24 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.

First found by a player on Day 7, 28 May 2026.

Built from these letters

TAWNY
5
Letters
1
Vowels
4
Consonants
5
Different letters
3
Longest consonant run
1
Longest vowel run

TAWNY starts with T and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read ANTWY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.

Same letters, different word

One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.

Could you have found TAWNY?

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 7 - and most players walked straight past it.

Play today's OUTLIER