'anagram' originates from French, specifically the word 'anagramme', which came from the Greek 'anagrammatismos', where 'ana-' meant 'again' and 'gramma' meant 'letter'.

'anagrammatismos' transformed into the French word 'anagramme', and eventually became the modern English word 'anagram' through adoption in the 16th century.

Initially, it meant 'transposition of letters to form a new word or phrase', and this meaning has remained the same in modern usage.