Anchor

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈæŋ.kə/

Definitions

1. A heavy weight used to hold a ship or boat in place ; a figure representing stability or hope often used symbolically ; to fasten something securely to prevent movement
2. An object dropped to the seabed to keep a vessel stationary ; a sign or emblem indicating steadiness or reassurance ; to fix or attach something firmly in position
3. A metal device deployed to restrict a vessel's drift ; a metaphorical representation of constancy or safety ; to secure firmly in a spot to ensure it does not move

Etymology: The heavy iron hook at the bow of a ship has an unexpected cousin: the anchor's ancient Greek name, "ankura," was also the word for a bent hook, and the same root gave Latin "ancora." English took the word from Old English "ancor," which came from Latin, and the spelling was altered in the sixteenth century to match the Medieval Latin form "anchora." Early English forms like "anker" survived alongside it for centuries. Strikingly, "anchor" is a doublet of "anker" and of "Angora," the name of the Turkish city now called Ankara, all descending from the same ancient Greek word. Ankara's old name is a reminder that a ship's hook and a town once shared a root. The verb "to anchor," meaning to fix a ship by its anchor, comes from Middle English "anchoren" and "ankeren," probably from the noun itself, though it may have arrived through Old French "ancrer" from a Medieval Latin verb "ancorare."

Synonyms: moor, fasten, secure, tie, attach

Antonyms: loosen, release, detach, unbind, drop