What is an anagram? According to the dictionary of the “Real academy of the English language” an anagram is a new word resulting from the transposition and change of order of letters, words or phrases of any original word. It is possible to form an anagram of a word resulting in a phrase or the other way around, taking an eternal phrase and transforming into a word only by changing the order of the letters.
Perhaps the best known example here is the word CAT whose anagrams or words resulting from the exchange of letters are:
GOTA, “TOGA”, or also the word LAPICERO and its anagrams POLARICE, COPLERIA, RECOPILA and COPILARE or the word CARPINTERO with the anagram CREPITARON.
More about the cat and its anagrams or other examples of anagrams can be found on our website in the category Anagrams.
Definition of anagram
So the origin of the word “anagram” comes from the Latin “anagramma” and this in turn from the Greek “ἀνάγραμμα”. If we want to decipher the meaning of the word “anagram” from its Greek origin we will find that the preference “ana-” means backward or return movement and “gramma” means “letter”.
The anagrams have their origin in antiquity. The Hebrew and Jewish peoples used anagrams to decipher secret scriptures through the Kabbalah. Similarly, anagrams were used by the Greeks and Romans. However, the Greek poet and writer Licofron de Calcis of the 3rd century B.C. is known as the inventor of anagrams. Historically it is known the anecdote of his life in which he formed an anagram of the name of the Egyptian emperor Ptolemy (in Greek script) resulting in a pleasant eulogy for the emperor.
Deciphering anagrams in religious and ancient scriptures used to be a favorite pastime among the literate people of the Middle Ages. Countless famous literates and poets used anagrams during history to conceal their true identity or to name unpleasant figures and persons. Galileo Galilei himself and the Englishman Robert Hooke used anagrams to refer to some discoveries and protect them from clerical conflicts. Before the computer revolution and the computer age, anagrams were made simply with pencil and paper. Today programs and the Internet have created effective tools for building anagrams consisting of a database from which the user can create any number of anagrams by entering a word at will.
Famous anagrams in literature
As we mentioned in this article, anagrams invaded from the beginning of time the world of literature, not only the sacred scriptures of many religions and creeds. Among some well-known examples we have:
The formation of pseudonyms that many authors (as we have mentioned in the previous paragraph) used to name certain characters and themselves. Among some works we can mention the book Lolita appears a character named Vivian Darkbloom, anagram of the author of the book, Vladimir Nabokov.You could buy this book from amazon and remind yourself to find a coupon provider for best deals. The poet André Breton criticized Salvador Dalí with an anagram of his name Ávida Dollars. In the famous Harry Potter book series, villain Tom Marvolo Riddle creates an anagram of his name, transforming it into Tom Sorvolo Ryddle the name that becomes the phrase I am Lord Voldemort. Also in the chapter of the mirror of Oesed, i.e. inverted desire. Continuing with successful novels and bestsellers in the fictional novel is the painting La Mona Lisa, is the phrase: No Truth Lacra Iglesias (The Virgin of the Rocks).
Famous anagrams in films
Alan Smithee, the pseudonym used by Hollywood directors when they do not want to be associated with a work, is the anagram of The alias men; although this is not its origin since the first time it was used it was in the form of Al Smith. In the film Shutter Island, Leonardo di Caprio uses two anagrams Edward Danielsy Andrew Laeddis for him, and Rachel Solando and Dolores Chanal for a psychiatric patient. And as a third and last example, we will mention the film El bebé de Rosemary, in which the protagonist discovers that the name of her neighbor, Roman Castevet, is actually an anagram of Steven Marcato, son in addition to Adrian Marcato, a character related to a satanic cult. These and an infinite quantity of anagrams flood the films and also the video games and the serious ones.
Anagrams in your favorite series and games
On this occasion we will briefly cite some examples from other fields such as: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, where there is a character called Matthias Lehner, an anagram of Arthas Menethil, the main villain of the game.
And as we all remember in the animated series Pokémon there are six creatures whose name is an anagram: Ekans, Arbok, Rotom, Metang, Mareep and Glaceon come from Snake, Kobra, Motor, Magnet, Ampere and Congela respectively; the latter is an original English anagram, the same thing happens with the name of Ciudad Luminalia, which is an anagram of the word iluminala.
Forming anagrams as a hobby
Even today deciphering and forming anagrams is still part of our daily lives, however as a popular form of hobby. The website palabr.as has implemented tools or anagram generators to make construction easier and more entertaining for users, you can use our anagram generator through this. In the digital age it is also known of the existence of many applications for smarthphones that are currently used in some countries.
A very popular pastime is to form anagrams from proper names that creates a kind of intimate relationship with the creator.
Form your own anagrams!
Have you ever tried building your own anagrams? The English language is rich in a wide vocabulary of words and consequently there are endless possibilities to form anagrams. We challenge you to take on the challenge of forming your own anagrams. We would be very interested to know your results and your skills in this hobby.
Be the first to comment