An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Anker

by Friedrich Kluge

Anker (1.), masculine, ‘anchor,’ from the equivalent Middle High German anker, late Old High German anchar, masculine; corresponding to Dutch anker, Anglo-Saxon (even at a very early period) oncor, English anchor, Old Icelandic akkere, ‘anchor.’ A loan-word early naturalised among the English, and before 1000 A. D. even among the Middle European Teutons and in the North. From Latin ancora (compare Italian ancora, French ancre, feminine; allied also to Lithuanian inkaras, Old Slovenian anŭkura, ankura), in connection with which the different gender of the Teutonic words is remarkable. In Old High German there exists a genuinely native word for ‘anchor’ — senchil, masculine, sinchila, feminine.

Anker (2.), masculine, ‘a liquid measure,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch anker, which, like the equivalent English anchor, points to Middle Latin anceria, ancheria, ‘cupa minor’ (smaller cask); the origin of the cognates is obscure.