As a noun, an anchor is a heavy object used to hold a ship in place in the water. As a verb, it means to fix something firmly so it does not move or to provide stability or support.
From Latin 'ancora', from Greek 'ánkyra' meaning 'anchor'. The basic idea of something that holds fast has stayed the same for thousands of years.
We now talk about 'news anchors' and 'anchor points' in designs because we borrowed the ship idea: something stable that everything else orbits around. Your brain even uses 'anchors' in decision-making—first numbers you see pull your later guesses toward them.
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