An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/eng

by Friedrich Kluge

eng, adjective, ‘narrow, close, strait, confined,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Middle Low German ęnge, Old High German ęngi, angi; corresponds to Gothic aggwus, Old Icelandic øngr (seldom ǫngr), ‘narrow,’ Dutch eng; from the Teutonic root ang, Aryan angh, preserved also in Angst. Compare Latin angustus, angustiœ, angere (see also bange), as well as Sanscrit aṅhú, ‘narrow,’ áṅhas, neuter, ‘narrowness, chasm, oppression,’ Old Slovenian ązŭkŭ, ‘narrow,’ Greek ἄγχω, ‘to strangle,’ Armenian anjuk, Irish cum-ung, ‘narrow.’