'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 Middle French and then English.

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