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Origin and history of quinary

quinary(adj.)

"pertaining to the number five; divided in a set of five," c. 1600, from Latin quinarius "consisting of five, containing five," from quint "five each" (from PIE root *penkwe- "five"). Related: Quinarian.

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to quinary

*penkwe-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "five."

It might form all or part of: cinquain; cinque; cinquecento; cinquefoil; fifteen; fifth; fifty; fin (n.) "five-dollar bill;" finger; fist; five; foist; keno; parcheesi; penta-; pentacle; pentad; Pentateuch; Pentecost; pentagon; pentagram; pentameter; pentathlon; Pentothal; Pompeii; Punjab; punch (n.2) "type of mixed drink;" quinary; quincunx; quinella; quinque-; quinquennial; quint; quintain; quintet; quintile; quintessence; quintillion; quintuple.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit panca, Greek pente, Latin quinque, Old Church Slavonic pęti, Lithuanian penki, Old Welsh pimp, Old English fif, Dutch vijf, Old High German funf.

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    quint
    mid-15c., quinte (late 13c. in Anglo-French), "a tax of one-fifth," from Old French quint, from Latin quintus "the fifth," ordinal to quinque "five" (from PIE root *penkwe- "five"). Used in English for "group or set of five" since 17c. First attested 1935 as a shortening of quint
    abolish
    "put an end to, do away with," mid-15c., from Old French aboliss-, present-participle stem of abolir "to abolish" (15c.), from Latin abolere "destroy, efface, annihilate; cause to die out, retard the growth of," which is perhaps from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + the second ele
    stoic
    late 14c., "philosopher of the school founded by Zeno" (c. 334-c. 262 B.C.E.), from Latin stoicus, from Greek stoikos "pertaining to a member of or the teachings of the school founded by Zeno, characterized by austere ethical doctrines," literally "pertaining to a portico," from
    abandon
    late 14c., "to give up (something) absolutely, relinquish control, give over utterly;" also reflexively, "surrender (oneself), yield (oneself) utterly" (to religion, fornication, etc.), from Old French abandonner "surrender, release; give freely, permit," also reflexive, "devote
    corny
    1570s, "full of corn, pertaining to corn," from corn (n.1) + -y (2). Chaucer used it of ale (late 14c.), perhaps to mean "malty." American English slang "old-fashioned, sentimental" is from 1932 (first attested in "Melody Maker"), perhaps originally "something appealing to countr
    comedy
    late 14c., "narrative with a happy ending; any composition intended for amusement," from Old French comedie (14c.), "a poem" (not in the theatrical sense) and directly from Latin comoedia, from Greek kōmōidia "a comedy, amusing spectacle," probably [Beekes] from kōmōidos "actor o
    real
    early 14c., "actually existing, having physical existence (not imaginary);" mid-15c., "relating to things" (especially property), from Old French reel "real, actual," from Late Latin realis "actual," in Medieval Latin "belonging to the thing itself," from Latin res "property, goo
    lord
    mid-13c., laverd, loverd, from Old English hlaford "master of a household, ruler, feudal lord, superior; husband," also "God," translating Latin dominus, Greek kyrios in the New Testament, Hebrew yahweh in the Old (though Old English dryhten was more frequent). Old English hlafor
    distress
    late 13c., "circumstance that causes anxiety or hardship," from Old French destresse (Modern French détresse), from Vulgar Latin *districtia "restraint, affliction, narrowness, distress," from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere "draw apart, hinder," also, in Medieva
    like
    "having the same characteristics or qualities" (as another), c. 1200, lik, shortening of y-lik, from Old English gelic "like, similar," from Proto-Germanic *(ga)leika- "having the same form," literally "with a corresponding body" (source also of Old Saxon gilik, Dutch gelijk, Ger

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