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su·do·ku

(s-dōk)

A puzzle in which a grid consisting of several regions is to be filled with numbers so that every row, column, and region contains only one instance of each number. The most common format is a grid of nine rows and columns that are divided into nine smaller regions of three rows and three columns into which the numbers 1 through 9 must be placed.

[Japanese sūdoku, contraction of sū(ji wa) doku(shin ni kagiru), the numbers are limited to a single occurrence (the phrase under which sudokus appeared in a magazine which popularized them in Japan in the 1980s) : sū(ji), number + doku(shin), single.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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