English
anagram
Anagram may come from Middle French anagramme.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600anagrammeuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2004anagram
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600anagrammeuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2004anagram
Earliest quotation: 2004, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright: “As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I"…”
A compound of ἀνά ‘up, back’ + γράμμα ‘letter’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- ‘on, onto’
Proto-Hellenic *aná ‘up, upon’
Ancient Greek ἀνά ‘up, back’
Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- ‘to carve’
Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō ‘to scratch, cut or carve into’
Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω ‘to write’
Ancient Greek γράμμα ‘letter’
The story
Late 16th century, either from Middle French anagramme or Latin anagramma, formed on Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, back”) + γράμμα (grámma, “letter”).
Every English word from Middle French anagramme
Today it means
noun A word or phrase that is created by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French anagramme / anagram