Where does “five finger” come from?

five finger (English) comes from English finger, from German Finger, from Middle High German vinger, from Old High German fingar, from Proto-West Germanic fingr, from Proto-Germanic fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European penkʷrós.

five finger (English): Pseudopanax arboreus, a New Zealand tree with compound leaves with five to seven 'fingers' and thick, leathery leaves with large teeth. A small, many-branched, round-headed tree with thick, brittle, spreading branches

Definitions

  1. Pseudopanax arboreus, a New Zealand tree with compound leaves with five to seven 'fingers' and thick, leathery leaves with large teeth. A small, many-branched, round-headed tree with thick, brittle, spreading branches

Ancestry of “five finger”, step by step

five finger traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English finger

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfingerA slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other animals
2GermanFingerfinger
3Middle High Germanvingerfinger
4Old High Germanfingarfinger
5Proto-West Germanicfingrfinger
6Proto-Germanicfingrazfinger
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpenkʷrós

via English five

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfiveA numerical value equal to 5; the number...
2Middle Englishfyffive
3Old Englishfīffive
4Proto-West Germanicfimffive
5Proto-Germanicfimffive
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpénkʷefive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European penkʷrósEvery word from Proto-Germanic fingrazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic fingr