Where does “fives” come from?
Fives comes from Middle English five, from Old English fīf, from Proto-Germanic fimf, from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe, the root for the number five.
fives (English): plural of five; API pl; a ball game, somewhat...
Definitions
- plural of five; API pl; a ball game, somewhat...
Ancestry of “fives”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | five | A numerical value equal to 5; the number... |
| 2 | Middle English | fyf | — |
| 3 | Old English | fīf | five |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fimf | five |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fimf | five |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pénkʷe | five |