The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
VELLICATE
Definition of VELLICATE
verb
To touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Latin vellicatus, past participle of vellicare (“to twitch”). Cognate with Spanish pellizcar (“to pinch”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
32.9%
of traced words share this origin (9,181)
branch · 32.9% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, VELLICATE · 1 relative in the game
Its etymology also names Spanish.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
VELLICATE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 137, 4 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 137, 4 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
VELLICATE starts with V and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read ACEEILLTV - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E and L appear more than once, including a double letter.
Words that start VELLIC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found VELLICATE?
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 137 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER