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

  1. plural of five; API pl; a ball game, somewhat...

Ancestry of “fives”, step by step

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 pénkʷe →Every word from Proto-Germanic fimf →Every word from Proto-West Germanic fimf →