five
The number 5; one more than four.
Etymology
From Old English fīf, from Proto-Germanic *fimf, from PIE *pénkʷe "five." Both the initial *p- and the medial *kʷ- shifted to f-sounds in Germanic through Grimm's Law. The PIE word may be related to the word for "fist" or "hand" — five fingers.
The Journey: *pénkʷe → five
*pénkʷe
*fimf
fīf
five
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *pénkʷe. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | pénte |
| Latin | quīnque |
| Welsh | pump |
| Russian | pjatĭ |
| Armenian | hing |
| Sanskrit | páñca |
| Old Irish | cóic |
| Lithuanian | penkì |
Did You Know?
Latin quīnque gives us "quintet." Greek pénte gives "pentagon" and "Pentecost." Sanskrit páñca gives "punch" (the drink, originally with five ingredients) and "Punjab" (five rivers).
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *pénkʷe. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.