anchor: [OE] English borrowed this word from Latin in the 9th century, but its ultimate source is Greek ágkūra (which goes back to an Indo- European base *angg- ‘bent’, also the source of angle and ankle). Originally it was spelled ancor, reflecting Latin ancora; the inauthentic h began to creep in in the 16th century, in imitation of the learned-looking but misguided Latin spelling anchora. => angle, ankle
Old English ancor, borrowed 9c. from Latin ancora "anchor," from or cognate with Greek ankyra "anchor, hook" (see ankle). A very early borrowing and said to be the only Latin nautical term used in the Germanic languages. The -ch- form emerged late 16c., a pedantic imitation of a corrupt spelling of the Latin word. The figurative sense of "that which gives stability or security" is from late 14c. Meaning "host or presenter of a TV or radio program" is from 1965, short for anchorman.
