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