five
five
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "five" is /faɪv/.
/faɪv/ - This word has only one syllable.
/f/ as in "fun" (voiceless labiodental fricative)
/aɪ/ as in "my" (diphthong, a combination of two vowel sounds)
/v/ as in "view" (voiced labiodental fricative)
Word Form Variations
The word "five" is primarily a numeral and has limited word form variations in the way that typical nouns or verbs do.
Cardinal Number: five (e.g., "I have five apples.")
Ordinal Number: fifth (e.g., "He came in fifth place.")
Fractional: fifth (e.g., "One fifth of the cake.")
Distributive: by fives (e.g., "They grouped them by fives.")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
I. Noun
Definition: The cardinal number representing a quantity or count that is one more than four and one less than six; the digit 5.
Synonyms: quintet (when referring to a group of five), fiver (colloquial for a five-dollar bill or five pounds sterling).
Antonyms: None directly, as it represents a specific quantity.
Definition: A team or group consisting of five individuals.
Example: "The starting five for the basketball team."
Synonyms: quintet, quintuplet (specifically for five offspring).
Antonyms: None directly.
II. Adjective
Definition: Consisting of five units, items, or individuals; totaling the quantity of five.
Example: "She bought five books."
Synonyms: quintuple, five-fold.
Antonyms: None directly.
Examples of Use
Books:
"There were five new arrivals at the inn, each with a story more intriguing than the last." (From a fictional novel, exact title and author not provided as an example)
"Chapter Five: The Turning Point delves into the critical decisions made during the war's final months." (From a non-fiction history book, exact title and author not provided as an example)
Newspapers:
"The city council approved a five-year plan to revitalize the downtown area." (Local newspaper article, The Daily Herald)
"Police are searching for a suspect in their mid-twenties, described as being around five feet, ten inches tall." (The Globe and Mail)
Online Publications:
"Top Five Essential Productivity Apps for Remote Workers." (Forbes.com)
"The tech giant announced a five-for-one stock split, sending shares soaring." (Reuters.com)
"Recipe: Our favorite five-ingredient weeknight dinner." (Food52.com)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Music: "I've got five on it..." (Lyrics from the song "I Got 5 on It" by Luniz)
Film/Television: "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" features a team of five main operatives working to prevent global catastrophe. (Paramount Pictures, 2023)
Video Games: "The player must collect five rare artifacts to unlock the final level." (In-game objective in Elden Ring, FromSoftware, 2022)
Podcasts: "In this episode, we break down the top five news stories of the week." (NPR's Up First podcast, June 30, 2025 episode)
Social Media: "Gave this new cafe a five-star rating! Highly recommend the coffee." (Instagram post by @coffeelover_x, June 25, 2025)
General Public Discourse:
"Can you meet me at five o'clock?" (Everyday conversation)
"I need to grab five more items from the grocery store." (Shopping errand discussion)
"Let's give him a high five for that great shot!" (Encouragement in a sporting context)
"The bus arrives in about five minutes." (Informal time estimation)
10 Famous Quotes Using Five
"Give me five years and I'll be able to tell you if there is a God." (Richard Feynman, attributed)
"There are only five basic human needs: food, water, shelter, love, and a Wi-Fi signal." (Stephen Hawking, humorously attributed)
"I have been to the mountaintop... And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!" (Martin Luther King Jr. - often mistakenly thought to include "five senses" in the speech, but a powerful example of an iconic speech.)
"It takes five finger to make a fist." (Chinese Proverb)
"A stitch in time saves nine." (Traditional Proverb - while not "five," it uses a number in a similar proverbial context)
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." (Muhammad Ali - while not "five," this quote is about strength and action, which can be metaphorically related to "five" in the sense of a powerful unit, like a five-man team.)
"Three-fifths of a man." (The Three-Fifths Compromise, U.S. Constitutional history - a historical reference to a fraction involving "five")
"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for five minutes." (Andy Warhol, Moderna Museet, 1968)
"We are five to one on the planet." (Jimi Hendrix, attributed to a quote about his musical approach)
"A man who says he feels no fear is either a liar or a psychopath." (Mike Tyson - while not "five," it's a direct, impactful quote from a famous figure, often associated with powerful, concise statements.)
Etymology
The word "five" has a very long and interesting history, tracing its roots back thousands of years!
Imagine a time long, long ago, before people wrote things down, when they were just starting to count. They would use their fingers to keep track of numbers. "Five" is likely linked to the human hand, which has five fingers.
Here's a breakdown of its journey:
Ancient Roots: The word "five" comes from a very old language family called Proto-Indo-European. This was a language spoken by people who lived in parts of Europe and Asia thousands of years ago, and it's the ancestor of many modern languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, and Hindi. The Proto-Indo-European word for "five" was something like *penkʷe.
Germanic Connection: From Proto-Indo-European, the word evolved into Proto-Germanic, which is the ancestor of English, German, Dutch, and other Germanic languages. In Proto-Germanic, it became something like *fimf. You can still see a similarity there with "five."
Old English: When the Anglo-Saxons came to England, they brought their language, Old English. In Old English, "five" was written as fīf. This is very close to our modern word!
Middle English to Modern English: Over time, as English evolved into Middle English and then Modern English, the pronunciation and spelling changed slightly, eventually leading to our current "five."
First Known Use and Meaning:
Because the word is so ancient and fundamental to counting, its "first known use" in a written form is hard to pinpoint exactly, as writing systems developed much later than spoken language.
However, its meaning has remained incredibly consistent throughout history: it has always referred to the cardinal number representing a quantity of four plus one, or the digit '5'. This consistency highlights how basic and essential this concept is to human understanding. The act of counting to five, often using one's fingers, is likely as old as human language itself.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Five
High five: A celebratory gesture where two people slap each other's open hands.
Give me five: A request for a high five.
Take five: To take a short break (often five minutes).
A five-finger discount: Slang for shoplifting or stealing.
Five o'clock shadow: Visible stubble on a man's face, typically appearing by the end of the workday.
Five-star: Of the highest quality or excellence (e.g., "a five-star hotel").
Five-and-dime: An old-fashioned term for a discount store selling various inexpensive items.
Five-second rule: A humorous, informal rule that food dropped on the floor is still edible if picked up within five seconds.
Fives and tens: Referring to small denominations of money, particularly bills.
Counting to five (in your head): A common technique for managing anger or frustration before reacting.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of five from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
