NYT Dictionary

ACHIRAL

/eɪˈkaɪɹəl/
AdjectiveACHI-ralachi-ral · 2 syllablesAdvanced/Professional

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025

Meaning

Superimposable on its mirror image; amphichiral.

Etymology

Origin: Middle English

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-)der. English a- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-ōr Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰésōr Proto-Hellenic *kʰéhər Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír) Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English chiral English achiral From a- + chiral.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

nonchiral

Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025.

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