six (English)
Where does "six" come from?
The word 'six' traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs, a root shared by many ancient languages including Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit. It evolved through Proto-Germanic and Proto-West Germanic as *sehs before entering Old English and eventually becoming the modern English word we use today. This stable numerical label remains remarkably consistent across its vast linguistic family tree.
Full etymology tree
- six (English), 'A numerical value equal to 6; the number following five and preceding seven. This number of dots: (••••••).'
- inherited six (Middle English), 'six'
- inherited six (Old English), 'six'
- inherited *sehs (Proto-West Germanic), 'six'
- inherited *sehs (Proto-Germanic), 'six'
- inherited *swehs (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *swéḱs (Proto-Indo-European), 'six'
- inherited *swehs (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *sehs (Proto-Germanic), 'six'
- inherited *sehs (Proto-West Germanic), 'six'
- inherited six (Old English), 'six'
- inherited six (Middle English), 'six'
Direct ancestors
- six (Middle English)
- six (Old English)
- sehs (Proto-West Germanic)
- sehs (Proto-Germanic)
- swéḱs (Proto-Indo-European)
- seis (West Frisian)
- zes (Dutch)
- söß (Low German)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris