cinc (Catalan)

Where does "cinc" come from?

The Catalan word 'cinc', meaning 'five', traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *pénkʷe. This word evolved through Proto-Italic into Latin as 'quinque', which eventually gave rise to the Catalan form. The root itself is deeply embedded in human language history, sharing a common ancestor with the English word 'five'.

Full etymology tree

• cinc (Catalan), 'five'
  • inherited quīnque (Latin), 'five; 5'
    • inherited *kʷenkʷe (Proto-Italic), 'five'
      • inherited *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European), 'five'

Ancestors

• quinque (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• cincnervis (Catalan)
• cinquè (Catalan)
• cinquè (Catalan)
• fer cinc cèntims (Catalan)

Updated July 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris