The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
THEWES
Definition of THEWES
Wiktionary has no entry for THEWES itself. This is its base word, THEW.
noun
An attractive physical attribute; also, physical, mental, or moral strength or vigour. An aspect of the body which indicates physical strength; hence, muscle and/or sinew; muscular development.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The origin recorded for THEW.
From Middle English theu, thew (“way of behaving towards others, bearing, manners; habit, practice; good manners, courtesy; characteristic act; characteristic, trait; custom, tradition; established rule, ordinance; injunction; moral character; (in the plural) set of moral principles, morals; moral quality, virtue or vice; might, power, strength”) [and other forms] (often in the plural form theus, thewes), from Old English þēaw (“general practice of a community, custom, usage; mode of conduct, behaviour, manner; (in the plural) customs, virtue”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *þauw, from Proto-Germanic *þawwaz (“custom; habit”); further etymology uncertain, tentatively identified by the Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen (Etymological Dictionary of Old High German) as a reflex of an s-less variant of Proto-Indo-European *(s)tāu-, *(s)te- (“to stand; to place”), from *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
8.9%
of traced words share this origin (2,647)
How it is built
Same root, THEW · 3 relatives in the game
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
THEWES in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 42, 1 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 149, 16 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 42, 1 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
THEWES starts with T and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read EEHSTW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Also seen on Day 42
Could you have found THEWES?
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 42 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER