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Added 8 October 2026

anchor

/ˈæŋ.kəː/ noun

In Latin: ancora Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about anchor at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A tool used to moor a vessel to the bottom of a sea or river to resist movement.
An iron device so shaped as to grip the bottom and hold a vessel at her berth by the chain or rope attached.
The combined anchoring gear (anchor, rode, bill/peak and fittings such as bitts, cat, and windlass.)

verb

To connect an object, especially a ship or a boat, to a fixed point.
To cast anchor; to come to anchor.
Our ship (or the captain) anchored in the stream.
To stop; to fix or rest.

noun

An anchorite or anchoress.

noun

Alternative form of anker.

Origin

From Middle English anker, from Old English ancor, ancra, from Latin ancora, from (or cognate with) Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura). The modern form is a sixteenth-century modification after the Medieval Latin spelling anchora. Doublet of ancora, anker, angora, and Ankara.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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