Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “eighty-six” come from?

eighty-six (English) comes from English Six, from Middle English six, from Old English six, from Proto-West Germanic sehs, from Proto-Germanic sehs, from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs — six.

eighty-six (English): The cardinal number immediately following...

Definitions

  1. The cardinal number immediately following...

Ancestry of “eighty-six”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSix—
2Middle Englishsixsix
3Old Englishsix—
4Proto-West Germanicsehssix
5Proto-Germanicsehssix
6Proto-Indo-Europeanswéḱssix
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs →