Five

[fahyv] /faɪv/

noun
1.
a cardinal number, four plus one.
2.
a symbol for this number, as 5 or V.
3.
a set of this many persons or things.
4.
a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with five pips.
5.
Informal. a five-dollar bill:
Can you give me two fives for a ten?
adjective
6.
amounting to five in number.
Idioms
7.
take five, Informal. to take a brief respite.
/faɪv/
noun
1.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
2.
a numeral, 5, V, etc, representing this number
3.
the amount or quantity that is one greater than four
4.
something representing, represented by, or consisting of five units, such as a playing card with five symbols on it
determiner
5.

n.

Old English fif, from Proto-Germanic *fimfe (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon fif, Dutch vijf, Old Norse fimm, Old High German funf, Gothic fimf), from PIE *penkwe- (cf. Sanskrit panca, Greek pente, Latin quinque, Old Church Slavonic peti, Lithuanian penke, Old Welsh pimp). The sound shift that removed the *-m- is a regular development involving Old English, Old Frisian, and Old Saxon (cf. thought, from stem of think; couth from *kunthaz; us from *uns.

Slang five-finger discount “theft” is from 1966. Five o’clock shadow attested by 1937. The original five-year plan was 1928 in the U.S.S.R.

noun

The hand; the five fingers (1950s+ Jive talk)

Related Terms

give someone five, hang five, nine-to-five, slip (or give) me five, take five
see: take five