The word is analyzed as a compound derived from the prepositional phrase ἐν χειρί. This etymology was suggested by the co-occurrence "he held his spear in his hands" in lines like ἔγχος ἔχων ἐν χειρὶ μαχήσεσθαι Τρώεσσιν (Il. 17.604), ἐν δ’ ἄρα χειρὶ || ἔγχος ἔχ’ ἑνδεκάπηχυ (Il. 6.318-319), πᾶν δέ οἱ ἐν χείρεσσιν ἄγη δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος (Il. 16.801). Only the initial consonant of χείρ is kept, while the other phonemes are dropped. The same collocation also suggested the competing etymology ἔγχος / ἔχω.