five

Definition

A numerical value equal to 5; the number following four and preceding six.

Etymology

PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English five, vif, fif, from Old English fīf (“five”), from Proto-West Germanic *fimf (“five”), from Proto-Germanic *fimf (“five”), from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe. See also West Frisian fiif, Dutch vijf, German fünf, Norwegian and Swedish fem, Icelandic fimm; also Welsh pump, Latin quinque, Tocharian A päñ, Tocharian B piś, Lithuanian penki, Russian пять (pjatʹ), Albanian pesë, pêsë, Ancient Greek πέντε (pénte), Armenian հինգ (hing), Persian پنج (panj), Sanskrit पञ्च (páñca). Doublet of cinque, fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, pimp (“five”), ponzu, punch (“beverage”), and sengi (“currency”); related to Pompeii. The nasal *m in Proto-Germanic *fimf was lost through a sound change known as the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law.

Example Sentences

• "The r-stems had apparently been reduced to the five nuclear kinship terms that still survive in Modern English."
• "The Texas Rangers investigation is one of at least five announced investigations targeting EPIC or EPIC City. Those include investigations led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas State Board of Securities and the Texas Funeral Service Commission."

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