A noun for “jaw” The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakma under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (Ety/NAK). It was possibly displaced by anca “jaw, jaws”, which was also introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but continued to appear in later documents included The Lord of the Rings Appendix E (LotR/1123). However, it might be that nangwa refers to a single “jaw” (upper or lower), while anca refers collectively to both “jaws”.