Cinque
/siŋk/noun
A card or die showing five; also a historical term for the number five in some fixed phrases and names.
Did you know?Cinque comes through Old French from Latin *quinque*, and it shares a deep ancient root with words like *quintet* and *quintessential*—all secretly tied to the same old idea of “five.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*penkwe
“five”
Latin
Latin
quinque
“five”
Old French
OFr
cinc
“five”
Middle English
ME
cinque
“five, the number five in certain uses”
Modern English
English
cinque
“a five on dice or cards; a historical/poetic word for five”
Explore more surprising origins