anagram

[an-uh-gram]

noun

1. a word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters.

   “Angel” is an anagram of “glean.”

2. (used with a singular verb),  anagrams, a game in which the players build words by transposing and, often, adding letters.

verb (used with object)

anagrammed, anagramming 

1. to form (the letters of a text) into a secret message by rearranging them.

2. to rearrange (the letters of a text) so as to discover a secret message.

anagram

/ ˈænəˌɡræm, ˌænəɡrəˈmætɪk /

noun

1. a word or phrase the letters of which can be rearranged into another word or phrase

Other Word Forms

• anagrammatically adverb
• anagrammatic adjective
• anagrammatical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anagram¹

First recorded in 1580–90; probably from Middle French anagramme, from New Latin anagramma; equivalent to ana- + -gram ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of anagram¹

C16: from New Latin anagramma, shortened from Greek anagrammatismos, from anagrammatizein to transpose letters, from _ana- + gramma a letter

Example Sentences

The pair borrowed the store’s name, an anagram of “nowhere,” from Samuel Butler’s 1872 satirical novel of the same name, which centered on a utopia where illness is considered a crime.

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After the health department shut it down, the couple rented a small storefront nearby and named it Erewhon, an anagram of “nowhere.”

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The name turned out to be an anagram of Mr. Navarro’s surname and he described it as a “Hitchcockian writing device” that became an inside joke with himself.

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Even the band's name is an anagram of the phrase "I'm fearless".

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These are wild anagrams for a stain on satin, giving material heft to ephemeral language.

Read more on Los Angeles Times