Five
/faɪv/noun
The number equivalent to 4 plus 1.
Did you know?English five descends from a Proto-Indo-European root reconstructed as *penkwe, which also gave us Latin quinque and Greek pente—so this tiny number is a direct survivor from prehistoric speech.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*penkwe
“five”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fimf
“five”
Old English
Eng
fīf
“five”
Middle English
Eng
five
“five”
Modern English
Eng
five
“five”