eng

eng · adjective¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*anguz
2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*angī
3. Old English · derived fromenge“narrow”
4. Dutch · derived fromeng“narrow”
5. English todayeng

Probably from Dutch eng (“narrow”), also compare Old English enge (“narrow”), from Proto-West Germanic *angī, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *anguz. No mention of the word is found in any surviving Middle English text, save for the Middle English compound word ang-nail. Related to Dutch eng (“narrow”), German eng (“narrow”), Low German enj (“confined, narrow”), Luxembourgish enk (“narrow”).

eng · noun²

Probably created by analogy with other names for nasal consonants em (m) and en (n).

Words from the same roots