G45 — ἄγκυρα (ankyra)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G45
Original: ἄγκυρα
Transliteration: ankyra
Pronunciation: ang'-koo-rah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From ἄγκος (ankos) — "a bend"; related to G43 ἀγκάλη (ankale, "arm") and G44 ἄγκιστρον (ankistron, "hook") — all sharing the root sense of something curved or bent
Occurrences: 4 in NT (4 unique verses, 4 tokens)
First Occurrence: Acts 27:29 — "Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From the same root as ἄγκος (ankos, "a bend"); an "anchor" (as crooked). A device for mooring a ship, shaped with curved flukes to grip the seabed.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 006.008 — Boats and Parts of Boats
Parent Domain: 006 — Artifacts
Other words in subdomain: ἀρτέμων (artemon, G736, "sail"), πηδάλιον (pedalion, G4079, "rudder"), πρύμνα (prymna, G4403, "stern"), πρῷρα (prora, G4408, "bow"), σκάφη (skaphe, G4627, "small boat"), πλοῖον (ploion, G4143, "boat/ship"), ναῦς (naus, G3491, "ship")

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
anchors	3	75%
an anchor	1	25%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Acts	3	0.3
Hebrews	1	0.3

All three Acts occurrences cluster in a single episode (Paul's shipwreck, Acts 27:29–40). The sole Hebrews occurrence is metaphorical. The word is absent from the Gospels, Pauline epistles proper, and Revelation — its use is confined to one narrative and one theological metaphor.

Morphological Forms¶

Reference	Form	Parsing
Acts 27:29	ἀγκύρας	Accusative Plural Feminine
Acts 27:30	ἀγκύρας	Accusative Plural Feminine
Acts 27:40	ἀγκύρας	Accusative Plural Feminine
Hebrews 6:19	ἄγκυραν	Accusative Singular Feminine

All occurrences are in the accusative case (direct object). The plural form dominates in Acts (multiple anchors deployed on a ship); the singular appears only in the Hebrews metaphor.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Nautical Equipment — Physical Anchoring of a Ship¶

Acts 27:29 — "they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day"
Acts 27:30 — "under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship"
Acts 27:40 — "when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea"

All three literal uses describe the deployment, pretended deployment, and retrieval of anchors during Paul's shipwreck voyage. The word functions as standard nautical terminology.

2. Metaphor for Stability and Security¶

Hebrews 6:19 — "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil"

The sole metaphorical use identifies Christian hope as an anchor — something that provides security and prevents drifting. The metaphor is modified by two adjectives: ἀσφαλής (asphales, "sure/safe") and βέβαιος (bebaios, "firm/steadfast").

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θάλασσα (thalassa)	G2281	2x (50%)	Anchors deployed into the sea
ὡς (hos)	G5613	2x (50%)	Comparative particle — "as an anchor" (Heb 6:19), "as though they would cast anchors" (Acts 27:30)
ἀσφαλής (asphales)	G804	1x (25%)	"anchor... both sure" (Heb 6:19)
βέβαιος (bebaios)	G949	1x (25%)	"anchor... and stedfast" (Heb 6:19)
ψυχή (psyche)	G5590	1x (25%)	"anchor of the soul" (Heb 6:19)
πρύμνα (prymna)	G4403	1x (25%)	"anchors out of the stern" (Acts 27:29)
κατεπέτασμα (katapetasma)	G2665	1x (25%)	"entereth into that within the veil" — where the anchor-hope lodges (Heb 6:19)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G43 ἀγκάλη (ankale) — arm (as curved); hapax Luke 2:28
G44 ἄγκιστρον (ankistron) — fishhook (as bent); hapax Matt 17:27

All three derive from the root ἄγκος (ankos, "a bend/curve") and share the semantic core of a curved or hooked implement.

Easily Confused Words¶

No other Greek word in the NT is translated "anchor." G45 is the sole NT term for this concept.

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew source words found via LXX mapping. The word ἄγκυρα does not render any Hebrew term in the Septuagint corpus indexed in the database.