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

• anagrammatic adjective
• anagrammatical adjective
• anagrammatically adverb

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.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From New York Times

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

From BBC

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

From Los Angeles Times