Have to admit that the Nazgul/Nazi connection stuck out like a sore thumb for me on my first reading. Its an idea I had to break myself of early on. Mind you, I'm not sure its a case of Tolkien 'allowing' such a verbal similarity. Tolkien's approach to language invention was more complex - once he had Nazg=Ring he couldn't just change the word root because of primary world Nazis - he would have had to invent another word, account for its origin, its historical development & make it 'fit'.
Which is not to say that he didn't smile to himself about the similarities....
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