Introduction
I've been doing Word Families for 5 years! In that time, I have made 150 families! So this week is *pénkʷe: "five".
The *p-kʷ sequence in *pénkʷe leads to a set highly divergent forms. *kʷ is a highly variable sound on its own, becoming /kw/, /w/, /ʍ/, /k/, /t͡ʃ/, /s/, /p/, or /t/ in various descendants; in many cases with multiple branches arriving at the same sound independently at different times.
On top of that, the *p-kʷ assimilates in Germanic (progressively), Celtic, and Italic (both regressively). The regressive assimilation *p-kʷ to *kʷ-kʷ is a regular change also seen in Celtic and Italic descendants of *pekʷ-: "to cook" and *pérkʷu-s: "oak". (The Germanic assimilation is not consistent; *pérkʷu-s becomes *ferhuz with no assimilation.)
This is complicated by the fact that some branches in both Celtic and Italic change *kʷ to /p/ (a merger in Italic, but following deletion of *p in Celtic). And then, Vulgar Latin changed its mind about the assimilation and regressively dissimilates to /k-kʷ/. That then allows palatalization on the /k/ leading to /t͡ʃ/ (and later /ts/, /ʃ/, or /s/ in various descendants).
Some of these specifics are discussed in more detail in the footnotes.
I've included another root, Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-: "to punch, to fist-fight". This is not so much to claim the roots are related, as that they are close enough in both sound and meaning that there are words that can't be assigned clearly to one or the other; particularly West Germanic *fūsti: "fist". The similarity also does allow for them to be potentially related, possibly with *penkʷ- coming from a re-analysis of a nasal infix form *pewǵ-, such as the one attested in Latin pungō.
Finally, as I've said before, there are reason to believe that many of the Proto-Indo-European numbers numbers are relatively recent, with only the numbers 1-3 being clearly established in Archaic PIE/Indo-Anatolian. The numbers 5-10 all have reasonably likely derivations, either as borrowings or as morphological derivations from other PIE words.
Teaser
finger,
five,
punch,
Ponzi scheme,
Pentecost,
poignant,
punch,
point,
punctuate,
pygmy,
pugnacious
Full Text
-
Proto-Indo-European *penkʷ- fist?, hand?, to hold in hand?
-
Proto-Indo-European *pn̥kʷstis
-
Balto-Slavic *punkstis *punstis *kunstis
-
Baltic
-
East Baltic
- Lithuanian kumštis a fist
-
West Baltic
- Old Prussian kuntis a fist
-
Slavic *pę̑stь
-
East Slavic
-
Russian пясть pjastʹ wristbone
- Russian запястье zapjastʹje wrist
- Ukrainian п'ясть pʺjastʹ a fist
-
South Slavic
-
Serbo-Croatian пест / pest a fist regional
- Serbo-Croatian песница pesnica a fist regional
-
West Slavic
- Czech pěst a fist
- Polish pięść a fist
-
Germanic *funkstiz? *funhwstiz? *funstiz
-
West Germanic *fūsti a fist
-
Old English fȳst a fist
-
Middle English fist a fist
- English fist
- Yola hist a fist
-
Frankish *fūst
-
Old High German fūst a fist
-
Middle High German fūst / voust
-
German Faust a fist
- Yiddish פֿויסט foyst a fist
-
Old Saxon fūst
-
Proto-Indo-European *penkʷrós
-
Germanic *fingraz finger
-
East Germanic
- Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍂𐍃 figgrs finger
-
North Germanic *fingraʀ
-
Old Norse fingr finger
-
Old East Norse
-
Old West Norse
- Old Norse þumalfingr thumb
-
West Germanic *fingr finger
-
Old English finger finger
-
Middle English finger / fynger finger
-
Frankish *fingar
-
Old High German fingar
- German Finger finger
- Yiddish פֿינגער finger finger, toe
-
Germanic *fingragulþą (golden) finger ring
-
East Germanic
- Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌿𐌻𐌸 figgragulþ finger ring
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse fingrgull
-
Old West Norse
- Faroese fingurgull golden (finger) ring
- Icelandic fingurgull finger ring
-
Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe five
-
Pre-Albanian *penče
-
Old Armenian հինգ hing five
-
Balto-Slavic *pénki five
-
Baltic
-
East Baltic
- Latvian pieci five
- Lithuanian penki five
-
West Baltic
-
Old Prussian *pentʲ five
- Old Prussian pentninx Friday likely literally "fifth"
- Sudovian pank five
- Slavic *pętь five
-
Pre-Germanic *pémpe
-
Germanic *fimf five
-
East Germanic
- Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌼𐍆 fimf five
- Crimean Gothic fyuf five
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse ᚠᛁᛘ / fimm five
-
Dalecarlian
-
Old East Norse
- Danish fem five
- Swedish fem five
-
Old West Norse
- Faroese fimm five
- Icelandic fimm five
-
West Germanic *fimf
-
Old English fīf five
-
Middle English five / vif / fif five
- English five
- Scots five five
- Yola veeve five
-
Frankish *finf *fīf
-
Old High German fimf five
-
Middle High German vinf / vünf
- German fünf five
- Yiddish פֿינף finf five
-
Old Saxon fīf five
-
Germanic *fimf-tigiwiz five group-of-tens, fifty
-
East Germanic
- Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌼𐍆 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌾𐌿𐍃 / 𐍆𐌹𐌼 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌾𐌿𐍃 fimf tigjus fim tigjus fifty
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse fimm tigir / fimmtigi fifty
-
Old East Norse
-
Old West Norse
- Faroese fimmti fifty
- Icelandic fimmtíu fifty
-
West Germanic *fimftigiwi fifty
-
Old English fīftiġ fifty
-
Middle English fifty / fifftiȝ fifty
- English fifty
- Scots fifty fifty
-
Frankish *fīftig
-
Middle Dutch vijftich fifty
-
Old High German fimfzug fifty
-
Middle High German vünfzic fifty
- German fünfzig fifty
- Yiddish פֿופֿציק fifty
-
Old Saxon fīftich fifty
-
Middle Low German viftig fifty
-
Germanic *fimftehun five-ten, fifteen
-
East Germanic
- Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌼𐍆𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌹𐌼 fimftaihunim fifteen attested only dative
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse fimmtán / fimtán fifteen
-
Old East Norse
-
Danish femten fifteen
-
Danish femto- SI prefix for 10 to the -15
-
West Germanic
-
Old English fīftīene / fīftȳne / fȳftȳne fifteen
-
Middle English fiftene / fiften / fyftene fifteen
- English fifteen
- Yola vifteen fifteen
-
Hellenic *pénkʷe
- Aeolic Greek πέμπε pémpe five
-
Classical Greek πέντε pénte five
-
Classical Greek πεντάγραμμος pentágrammos
- Greek πέντε pénte five
- English penta-
-
Classical Greek πένταθλον péntathlon contest of five exercises, pentathlon
-
Classical Greek πεντάγωνος pentágōnos five-angled, pentagonal, pentagon
-
Classical Greek πεντάγωνον pentágōnon pentagon
-
Latin pentagōnum pentagon
-
Indo-Iranian *pánča
-
Indo-Aryan *pánća
-
Mitanni Aryan *panća
-
Mitanni Aryan *panća-vartana for five laps Kikkuli
-
Hurrian
- Hittite pa-an-za-wa-ar-ta-an-na for five laps Kikkuli
-
Sanskrit 𑀧𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀦𑁆 páñcan five
-
Elu
- Dhivehi ފަހެއް fahek five
- Sinhala පහ paha five
-
Magadhi 𑀧𑀁𑀘 paṃca five
- Bengali পাঁচ pãcô five
- Rohingya 𐴉𐴝𐴣𐴏 fañs five
-
Maharashtri 𑀧𑀁𑀘 paṃca five
-
Pali pañca five
-
Sauraseni 𑀧𑀁𑀘 paṃca five
-
Hindustani
- Hindi पाँच pā̃c five
- English punch drink with five ingredients
-
Northwestern Sauraseni
- Kashmiri پانٛژھ pānċh five
- Punjabi ਪੰਜ pañj five
-
Western Sauraseni
-
Sanskrit 𑀧𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀯𑀺𑀁𑀰𑀢𑀺 páñcaviṃśati twenty-five
-
Sauraseni
-
Hindustani
- Hindi पच्चीस paccīs twenty-five
-
English pachisi
-
Iranian *pánča
- Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬗𐬀 paṇca five
-
Scythian
-
Sogdo-Bactrian
- Bactrian πανζο panzo five
- Sogdian 𐫛𐫗𐫝 panč five
- Pashto پنځه pinźë́ five
-
Western Iranian
-
Northwestern Iranian
-
Old Persian
-
Persian پنج panj five
-
Persian پنجاب panjâb Punjab (lit. five rivers)
-
Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬ pañjāb Punjab
-
Persian پنجه panja paw
- Hindi पंजा pañjā paw, claw, hand, group of 5
-
Ottoman Turkish پنچه pençe hand, paw, claw, signature
- Turkish pençe paw, claw
- Romanian pingea sole (bottom of shoe)
- Serbo-Croatian панџа pandža claw
-
Italo-Celtic *kʷenkʷe assimilation
-
Celtic *kʷenkʷe five
-
Brythonic *pɨmp five
- Breton pemp five
- Cornish pymp five
-
Middle Welsh pymp five
- Gaulish pempe five
-
Old Irish cóic five
-
Middle Irish
- Irish cúig five
- Manx queig five
- Scottish Gaelic còig five
-
Italic *kʷenkʷe five
-
Latin quīnque five
-
Vulgar Latin *cīnque five
-
Central Romance
-
Eastern Romance
-
Insular Romance
-
Sardinian
- Campidanese cincu
- Logudorese chimbi five
-
Western Romance
-
French cinq five
-
Spanish cinco five
- Tagalog singko five
-
Spanish Cinco de Mayo
-
Latin quīndecim fifteen
-
Vulgar Latin *quindece
-
Insular Romance
-
Sardinian
- Logudorese bindighi fifteen
-
Western Romance
-
Latin quīncūnx five-twelfths, the five on a die
-
Oscan 𐌐𐌖𐌌𐌐𐌄 pumpe five
-
Oscan *Pumpeis? "of five"
-
Latin Pompeius
- Umbrian 𐌐𐌖𐌌𐌐𐌄 pumpe
- Messapian ΠΕΝΚΑΗΕΗ penkaheh five
- Phrygian ΠΙΝΚΕ pinke five
-
Tocharian *p'äñś
- Arshian päñ five
- Kushean piś five
-
Proto-Indo-European *penkʷtós fifth
- Albanian pestë fifth
-
Balto-Slavic *pénktas fifth (ordinal)
-
Baltic
-
East Baltic
-
Lithuanian penktas fifth (ordinal)
- Lithuanian penktadienis Friday
-
West Baltic
- Old Prussian penckts fifth
-
Slavic *pętъ fifth (ordinal)
-
East Slavic пѧтъ pętŭ
- Russian пятый pjatyj fifth (ordinal)
- Ukrainian п'ятий pʺjatyj fifth (ordinal)
-
South Slavic
- Old Church Slavonic ⱂⱔⱅⱏ / пѧтъ pętŭ fifth (ordinal)
- Serbo-Croatian пети / peti fifth (ordinal)
-
West Slavic
- Czech pátý fifth (ordinal)
- Polish piąty fifth (ordinal)
-
Slavic *pętъkъ Friday
-
East Slavic
- Russian пятница pjatnica Friday
- Ukrainian п'я́тниця pʺjátnycja Friday
-
South Slavic
- Old Church Slavonic ⱂⱔⱅⱏⰽⱏ / пѧтъкъ pętŭkŭ Friday
- Bulgarian петък petǎk Friday
- Serbo-Croatian петак petak Friday
-
West Slavic
- Czech pátek Friday
- Polish piątek Friday
-
Slavic *pętь five backformed?
-
East Slavic
- Russian пять pjatʹ five
- Ukrainian п'ять pʺjatʹ five
-
South Slavic
- Old Church Slavonic ⱂⱔⱅⱐ / пѧть pętĭ five
- Bulgarian пет / пен pet pen five
- Serbo-Croatian пет pet five
-
West Slavic
- Czech pět five
- Polish pięć five
-
Germanic *fimftô fifth
-
East Germanic
-
Gothic *fimfta
- Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌼𐍆𐍄𐌰𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰 fimftataihunda the fifteenth
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse fimti fifth (ordinal)
- Danish femte fifth
- Icelandic fimmti fifth (ordinal)
-
West Germanic *fimftō fifth
-
Old English fīfta fifth (ordinal)
-
Middle English fifte / fifthe fifth (ordinal)
-
Frankish *fīfto
- Dutch vijfde fifth (ordinal)
-
Old High German fimfto
- German fünfte fifth (ordinal)
- Yiddish פֿינפֿט finft fifth (ordinal)
-
Germanic *halbaz fimftô four and a half
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse halfr fimmti four and a half
-
Old East Norse
-
Danish halvfemte four and a half
-
Danish halvfemsindstyve ninety
-
Hellenic *pénkʷtos
-
Classical Greek πέμπτος pémptos fifth (ordinal)
-
Greek πέμπτος pémptos fifth (ordinal)
- Greek Πέμπτη Pémpti Fifth (day), Thursday
-
Italo-Celtic *kʷenkʷtos fifth
-
Celtic *kʷenkʷetos fifth
-
Brythonic *pɨmped fifth
- Welsh pumed fifth (ordinal)
- Gaulish pinpetos fifth
-
Old Irish cóiced fifth (ordinal), fifth (fraction), province (a fifth of Ireland)
- Irish cúigiú fifth (ordinal)
- Irish cúige province
-
Italic *kʷenkʷtos fifth
- Faliscan 𐌂𐌖𐌉𐌂𐌕𐌏 fifth, personal name: Fifth
-
Old Latin quīnctus fifth
-
Latin quīntus fifth (ordinal)
-
Latin Quīntus personal name: Fifth
-
Central Romance
- Classical Greek Κόϊντος Kóïntos
-
Latin Quīntīnus diminutive
-
Central Romance
-
Western Romance
-
Old French
-
Middle French
-
Middle English
- Spanish Quintín
-
Latin Quīntīlis / quīntīlis July before it was renamed after Julius Caesar
- Latin Quīnctīlius family name: of July
-
Oscan 𐌐𐌏𐌌𐌐𐌕𐌖𐌔 pomptus fifth
-
Latin Pontius personal name: Fifth?
-
Central Romance
-
Western Romance
- English Pontius
-
Tocharian
- Arshian pänt fifth
- Kushean piṅkte fifth
-
Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷedḱomt fifty
-
Old Armenian յիսուն yisun fifty
- Armenian հիսուն hisun fifty
-
Hellenic
-
Classical Greek πεντήκοντα pentḗkonta fifty
- Greek πενήντα penínta fifty
-
Classical Greek πεντηκοστή pentēkostḗ fiftieth, Pentecost
-
Latin Pentēcostē Pentecost
-
Indo-Iranian *pančaHćát
-
Indo-Aryan
-
Sanskrit 𑀧𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀸𑀰𑀢𑁆 pañcāśát fifty
-
Elu
- Dhivehi ފަންސާސް fan̊sās fifty
- Sinhala පනහ panaha fifty
-
Magadhi
- Bengali পঞ্চাশ pôncash fifty
- Pali 𑀧𑀜𑁆𑀜𑀸𑀲 paññāsa fifty
-
Sauraseni
-
Iranian
- Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬗𐬁𐬯𐬀𐬙 paṇcāsat fifty
-
Western Iranian
-
Northwestern Iranian
-
Old Persian
- Persian پنجاه panjâh fifty
-
Italic *kʷenkʷekentā
-
Latin quīnquāgintā fifty
-
Vulgar Latin *cīnquāgintā fifty
-
Central Romance
-
Insular Romance
- Sardinian chimbanta fifty
-
Western Romance
-
Old French cinquante / chinquante
- Spanish cincuenta fifty
-
Tocharian
-
Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- to punch, to fist-fight
-
Proto-Indo-European *punéǵti -n- imperfective
-
Italic *pungezi
-
Latin pungere to puncture
-
Central Romance
- Italian pungere to prick, to sting, to prickle
-
Western Romance
-
Old French puindre / poindre
-
Middle French
- French poindre to prick, to sting, to begin
- Middle English poynen
-
Latin pungēns puncturing, stinging
-
Central Romance
- Italian pungente prickly, biting, pungent
-
Western Romance
-
Old French poignant pointed, pointy
- French poignant
- English poignant
- English pungent
-
Latin pūnctiō a puncture
-
Central Romance
-
Western Romance
-
Old French ponchon / pounceon / ponson puncheon
-
Middle French poinchon / poinçon
- French poinçon stamp, awl, punch
-
Middle English punchoun
-
Old French ponchonner to stamp, to punch
- Spanish punzón awl
-
Latin *impungere
-
Eastern Romance
- Romanian împunge to prod, to goad, to prick
-
Latin expungere strike out, erase
-
Latin pūnctus punctured, stippled, marked with points
-
Central Romance
-
Western Romance
-
Old French point
-
Middle French poinct
-
Middle English poynt
- Spanish punto point
- German bunt spotted, speckled, variegated
-
Vulgar Latin punctus
-
Medieval Latin pūnctus
-
Medieval Latin pūnctuō
- English punctuate
- French punctuer
-
Latin pūnctūra a puncture
-
Proto-Indo-European *pugnéh₂ti
-
Germanic *fukkōną to strike, to fuck
-
North Germanic
-
Old Norse *fukka
-
Old East Norse
- Swedish fokka to fuck, to thrust, to push
-
Old West Norse
-
West Germanic *fukkōn
-
Old English *fuccian
-
Middle English *fukken
- English fuck
- Scots fuck / fuk
-
Proto-Indo-European *puǵlis
-
Italic
-
Latin pugil boxer, pugilist
-
Proto-Indo-European *puǵméh
-
Hellenic *pugmá
-
Classical Greek πυγμή pugmḗ fist, fistfight, distance from elbow to knuckles
-
Classical Greek πυγμαῖος pugmaîos pygmy
-
Proto-Indo-European *puǵnós
-
Italic
-
Latin pugnus a fistful, a handful, a fist
-
Central Romance
-
Italian pugno a fist, a punch, a handful
- Greek μπουνιά bouniá a fist, a punch
-
Eastern Romance
- Romanian pumn a fist, a punch, a handful
-
Western Romance
-
Old French poing a fist
-
Middle French poing a fist
- Spanish puño a fist, a handful, wristband, handle
-
Latin pugnāre to fight, to oppose, to struggle
-
Central Romance
-
Western Romance
- Spanish puñar to fight, to attack
-
Latin impugnāre to attack, to assail
-
Latin repugnāre to fight against, to resist, to struggle
-
Latin repugnāns / repugnantem
-
Latin pugnāx / pugnācem tending to fight, combative, aggressive
- Italian pugnace pugnacious
-
French pugnace pugnacious
- Spanish pugnaz pugnacious
-
Latin *pugnālem
-
Central Romance
-
Western Romance
-
Old French poignal / poignel
-
Middle French
- French poignard dagger
- English poniard
-
Proto-Indo-European *punǵstis
-
Germanic *funkstiz? *funhwstiz? *funstiz
-
West Germanic *fūsti a fist
-
Old English fȳst a fist
-
Middle English fist a fist
- English fist
- Yola hist a fist
-
Frankish *fūst
-
Old High German fūst a fist
-
Middle High German fūst / voust
-
German Faust a fist
- Yiddish פֿויסט foyst a fist
-
Old Saxon fūst
-
Balto-Slavic
-
Slavic *pę̑stь
-
East Slavic
-
Russian пясть pjastʹ wristbone
- Russian запястье zapjastʹje wrist
- Ukrainian п'ясть pʺjastʹ a fist
-
South Slavic
-
Serbo-Croatian пест / pest a fist regional
- Serbo-Croatian песница pesnica a fist regional
-
West Slavic
- Czech pěst a fist
- Polish pięść a fist
Visual
Collected English words
fist,
Faust,
finger,
five,
fifty,
femto-,
fifteen,
penta-,
punch,
pachisi,
Parcheesi,
Punjab,
Cinco de Mayo,
quincunx,
Pompeii,
Pompey,
fifth,
Quentin,
Ponzi scheme,
Pontius,
Pentecost,
poignant,
pungent,
puncheon,
punch,
expunge,
point,
punctuate,
puncture,
fuck,
pugilism,
pygmy,
impugn,
repugnant,
pugnacious,
poniard,
pentagon,
Pentagon,
triathlon,
pentathlon,
-athlon,
pentagram
Footnotes