NYT Dictionary

ETIC

/ˈɛtɪk/
AdjectiveE-tice-tic · 2 syllablesAdvanced/Professional

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

Of or pertaining to analysis of a culture from a perspective situated outside that culture.

Etymology

Origin: Unknown

Coined by American linguist Kenneth Pike in 1954 from phonetic. * Kenneth Lee Pike (1962), With Heart and Mind: A Personal Synthesis of Scholarship and Devotion, page 37: “I have coined the term etic to refer to the detached observer’s view […]”

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, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

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