पाँच (Hindi)
Where does "पाँच" come from?
The Hindi word 'पाँच' (pā̃c) traces its ancestry back to the Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe, the common ancestor from which most Indo-European languages derive their word for 'five'. Over millennia, it evolved through Proto-Indo-Iranian and Proto-Indo-Aryan stages before becoming the Sanskrit 'पञ्च' (páñca). It then passed through Ashokan and Sauraseni Prakrit before entering Old Hindi, ultimately resulting in the modern form used today.
Full etymology tree
- पाँच (pāṁc) (Hindi), 'five'
- inherited पंच (paṃca) (Old Hindi), 'five'
- inherited 𑀧𑀁𑀘 (paṃca) (Sauraseni Prakrit)
- inherited 𑀧𑀁𑀘 (paṃca) (Ashokan Prakrit), 'five'
- inherited पञ्च (pánca) (Sanskrit), 'five'
- inherited *pánća (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- inherited *pánča (Proto-Indo-Iranian), 'five'
- inherited *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European), 'five'
- inherited *pánča (Proto-Indo-Iranian), 'five'
- inherited *pánća (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- inherited पञ्च (pánca) (Sanskrit), 'five'
- inherited 𑀧𑀁𑀘 (paṃca) (Ashokan Prakrit), 'five'
- inherited 𑀧𑀁𑀘 (paṃca) (Sauraseni Prakrit)
- inherited पंच (paṃca) (Old Hindi), 'five'
Ancestors
- पंच (Old Hindi)
- 𑀧𑀁𑀘 (Ashokan Prakrit)
- पञ्च (Sanskrit)
- *pánča (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- পাঁচ (Bengali)
- five (English)
- પાંચ (Gujarati)
- पांच (Konkani)
- पाच (Marathi)
- पाँच (Nepali)
- ਪੰਜ (Punjabi)
Descendants and derived words
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
- punch (English)
Updated July 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris