Rootle

Don Drummond

About this game

Rootle is six daily word puzzles about the hidden history of the English language.

Every day, six new challenges unlock. Each takes 2–5 minutes and teaches you something real about where words and place names come from.

KIN — Twelve words. Four groups of three share a hidden ancient ancestor. Find them before you run out of guesses.

TRACE — An ancient root word is given. One modern English descendant is hiding in the slots. Type it.

TWIST — A phrase from another language, translated literally. Guess the real idiom it represents.

STORY — Every word has a biography. Three questions trace one word's journey through history.

ATLAS — Every place name once meant something. Three questions about language, place, and origin.

QUIRK — One ridiculous-but-real word per day. Three questions: meaning, origin, and which of four other words is also genuinely real.

What’s new

Six daily etymology puzzles — Kin, Trace, Twist, Story, Atlas, and Quirk.