English word origin

Etymology of eng

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Narrow.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionengnl
Derivation mentionengeang
Derivation mention*angīgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*anguzgem-pro
Cognate mentionengnl
Cognate mentionengde
Cognate mentionenjnds
Cognate mentionenklb

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "eng",
        "4": "",
        "5": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch eng (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "enge",
        "4": "",
        "5": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English enge (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*angī"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *angī"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*anguz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *anguz"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "eng",
        "3": "",
        "4": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch eng (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "eng",
        "3": "",
        "4": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "German eng (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "enj",
        "3": "",
        "4": "confined, narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German enj (“confined, narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "enk",
        "3": "",
        "4": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish enk (“narrow”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "eng",
      "eng#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "enge",
      "enge#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*angī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/angī"
    ],
    [
      "*anguz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/anguz"
    ],
    [
      "ang-nail",
      "ang-nail"
    ],
    [
      "eng",
      "eng#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "eng",
      "eng#German"
    ],
    [
      "enj",
      "enj#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "enk",
      "enk#Luxembourgish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Narrow."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete",
        "regional"
      ],
      "recordId": "8b3e3b3025137dbe8b8edbf7aa13641c215aa8d05af7f18362ca7593e2e62548",
      "rawRecordSha256": "42b9a7ef8b9a6bbb9a62985f0f2d02120efcd0937322f466d25d460fc8e082be",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 95716
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

The name of the Latin script letter Ŋ/ŋ, formed by combining the letters n and g, used in the IPA, Sami, Mende, and some Australian aboriginal languages. · The velar nasal consonant found in such words as song or wink.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "em",
      "em#English"
    ],
    [
      "m",
      "m#English"
    ],
    [
      "en",
      "en#English"
    ],
    [
      "n",
      "n#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The name of the Latin script letter Ŋ/ŋ, formed by combining the letters n and g, used in the IPA, Sami, Mende, and some Australian aboriginal languages.",
        "The velar nasal consonant found in such words as song or wink."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "2c289a624cf64fd162f9d3ae6fe7a09cfd898aec85026236be8945f84464f32d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ea4015cc708757702e870e667e8805e1b553dd91de7e437e5de7c0a1a6b9df2d",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for eng →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-ZW5n