anagram
Noun · VerbUS[an-uh-gram]/ˈænəˌɡræm/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
Verb (1)
- read letters out of order to discover a hidden meaningSynonyms: anagrammatizeanagrammatiseMore general read
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
An′a·gram (ăn′ȧ-grăm), noun
Origin: F. anagramme, LL. anagramma, fr. Gr. ἀνά back, again + γράφειν to write. See Graphic.
Literally, the letters of a word read backwards, but in its usual wider sense, the change of one word or phrase into another by the transposition of its letters. Thus Galenus becomes angelus; William Noy (attorney-general to Charles I., and a laborious man) may be turned into I moyl in law.
An′a·gram transitive verb
To anagrammatize.
Some of these anagramed his name, Benlowes, into Benevolus.— Warburton.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54