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There is a fun triplet in Italian:

anello (ring, think annular)

anno (year, think annual)

ano (anus)

all come from the Latin word for ring: the year because of the repetition of seasons and the anus, well, because of its shape.

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Unfortunately, this isn't correct according to my sources -- Italian anno < Latin annus < PIE h₂t-nó-s from a root h₂t- "to go", while ano < Latin anus < PIE *h₁eh₂no- "ring".

That's the English Wiktionary and it doesn't cite any sources. The paper etymological dictionary I've checked gives both theories and a number of references for each.

Not who you replied to, but it's consistent with basically other source I can find. I'm inclined to believe that the root for year is indeed different, based on the suggested cognates in other languages.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/annual https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anus

https://www.etymonline.com/word/annual https://www.etymonline.com/word/anus

The existence of Gothic aþnam (athnam) “years (dative)” and Oscan “akno-“ [1] strongly suggests the presence of a consonant in there, which supports the separate root theory.

1. https://www.etymonline.com/word/annual

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