Fives

[fahyvz] /faɪvz/

noun, (used with a singular verb) British.
1.
a game resembling handball, played on a court having a front wall and two side walls.
[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.
/faɪvz/
noun
1.
(functioning as sing) a ball game similar to squash but played with bats or the hands
/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.

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.

Related Terms

bunch of fives

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

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Five-senses
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Five-speed
[fahyv-speed] /ˈfaɪvˌspid/ noun 1. (in an automotive vehicle or bicycle) a transmission or system of gears having five forward gear ratios. 2. an automotive vehicle or bicycle having such a transmission or system of gears. adjective 3. having five forward gear ratios.

Five-spice powder
[fahyv-spahys] /ˈfaɪvˌspaɪs/ noun 1. a mixture of spices used especially in Chinese cooking, usually including cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, pepper, and star anise.
Five-spot
[fahyv-spot] /ˈfaɪvˌspɒt/ noun 1. a playing card or the upward face of a die bearing five pips; a domino one half of which bears five pips. 2. Slang. a five-dollar bill. 3. a low plant, Nemophila maculata, of the waterleaf family, native to western and central California, having white flowers with a purple spot at […]