six
The number 6; one more than five.
PIE *swéḱsView full root page →
Etymology
From Old English siex/six, from Proto-Germanic *sehs. This traces to PIE *swéḱs meaning "six." The word is one of the most stable numerals across the Indo-European family, showing minimal change over millennia.
The Journey: *swéḱs → six
PIE~4500 BCE
*swéḱs
Proto-Germanic~500 BCE
*sehs
Old English~500 CE
siex
Modern English~1500 CE
six
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *swéḱs. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | héx |
| Latin | sex |
| Welsh | chwech |
| Sanskrit | ṣáṣ |
| Old Irish | sé |
| Lithuanian | šeši |
Did You Know?
Latin sex "six" gave English "semester" (originally a six-month period) and "sextant" (an instrument measuring one-sixth of a circle).
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *swéḱs. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.