Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin "ancora", which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα ("ankura").
Anchor
An anchor frequently appears on the flags and coats of arms of institutions involved with the sea, both naval and commercial, as well as of port cities and seacoast regions and provinces in various countries. There also exists in heraldry the "Anchored Cross", or Mariner's Cross, a stylized cross in the shape of an anchor. The symbol can be used to signify 'fresh start' or 'hope'. The New Testament refers to the Christian's hope as "an anchor of the soul" (Hebrews 6:19). In 1887, the Delta Gamma Fraternity adopted the anchor as its badge to signify hope. The Mariner's Cross is also referred to as St. Clement's Cross, in reference to the way this saint was martyred (being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea in 102). Anchored crosses are occasionally a feature of coats of arms in which context they are referred to by the heraldic terms "anchry" or "ancre".