anagram
AN-uh-gram
/ˈæn.ə.ɡræm/
A word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another.
A precise linguistic rearrangement where every single original letter must be used exactly once.
The story behind the word. The ancient Greeks loved playing with letters. By combining ana (meaning 'anew' or 'again') with gramma (meaning 'letter'), they created a word for the magical art of shuffling letters to reveal hidden, alternative truths.
Word relationships
- wordplay: Wordplay is a broad term for any clever use of words, while anagram is a highly specific type of letter rearrangement.
- transposition: Transposition is a technical term for switching the order of elements, whereas anagram is specifically for letters forming new words.
Commonly confused with
- palindrome: A palindrome reads the same backward as forward, like 'racecar'; an anagram rearranges letters to form a different word.
Word family
- anagrammatic (adjective): Relating to or forming an anagram.
- anagrammatize (verb): Rearrange the letters of a word to form an anagram.
Collocations
- form an anagram
- solve an anagram
- clever anagram
Example sentences
- "His name was an anagram of the devil's own." An early American text discussing hidden meanings in names.
Memory hook
Anna has a gram of letters that she rearranges to make new words (anagram). Rearranging letters to find a hidden name.
When not to use
Do not use for a simple word search or crossword; it must involve letter rearrangement.
Fun facts
- In the 17th century, astronomers like Galileo used anagrams to claim discovery of new celestial bodies without revealing the details until they were absolutely sure of their findings.
Explore more words
articulation, metaphor, syntax, transcribe, shuffle, dialect
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