The etymology is not fully explicit since it is give as a parallel for *λέλοχα / λέλογχα. The marginal addition gives the wrong etymon, as ἐνέχω, whereas Herodian's formulation implies that the etymon is ἔχω, as explicit in other sources. This etymology relies on a formal manipulation, the addition of [g], which is developed in other sources. It displayed the confusion between the graphic and phonetic levels, since γ is realized [ŋ] and what is inserted is in fact a nasal consonant [n], not a [g]. The fact that *ἔνχος, the correct phonetic form, is given first, before the standard spelling ἔγχος, seems to point to the fact that Herodian thought the inserted consonant was in fact an [n] which is spelled γ before a velar consonant (the latter point is explicit in the Epimerismi, see Parallels). The etymology arose out of a contextual co-occurrence in Homer, ἔγχος ἔχων ἐν χειρὶ  (Il. 17.604), ἐν δ’ ἄρα χειρὶ || ἔγχος ἔχ’ ἑνδεκάπηχυ (Il. 6.318-319), which also gave rise to the competing etymology by ἐν χειρί (see ἔγχος / ἐν + χείρ).