English
cinque
Cinque comes from Middle French cinq ‘five’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pénkʷe‘five’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷenkʷe‘five’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquīnqueas cīnque‘five’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cinq‘five’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cynk
- Englishearliest quotation 1775cinque
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pénkʷe‘five’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷenkʷe‘five’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquīnqueas cīnque‘five’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cinq‘five’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cynk
- Englishearliest quotation 1775cinque
Earliest quotation: 1775, a Connoisseur: “Accordingly the firſt beſt throw upon the dice is…”
The story
The archaic spelling cinq is taken from modern French cinq, whereas the standard spelling is perhaps influenced by Italian cinque or a misspelling of the French. The variant pronunciation /sæŋk/ is based on Modern French.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe ‘five’
five, fifth, punch, finger, pentagon, pimp, fin, quintet, quint, quine, 22 more
Today it means
noun A card, die, or domino with five spots or pips.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe / cinque