Origin: Latin suffix -ous
Anonymous has 4 different meanings across 2 categories:
not known or lacking marked individuality
"brown anonymous houses"
"anonymous bureaucrats in the Civil Service"
Lacking a name; not named, for example an animal not assigned to any species.
"The researcher spent years studying the population of anonymous frogs that no scientist had ever classified into a known species."
In plain English: Anonymous means being unknown or having no name attached to you.
"The reviewer left an anonymous comment praising the new restaurant."
Usage: Use "anonymous" to describe something or someone whose identity is unknown or intentionally concealed, such as an anonymous tip or a donation made without revealing the donor's name. Avoid using it merely because a person lacks a proper name, as that simply means they are unnamed rather than having their identity hidden.
A hacktivist group opposed to Internet censorship, government corruption, homophobia and Scientology.
"The anonymous group released new documents exposing local officials' ties to corrupt contractors."
The word anonymous entered English around 1600 from Late Latin, where it originally meant "without name." It traces back to Ancient Greek, combining a prefix meaning "un-" with the root for "name."