penki (Lithuanian)
Where does "penki" come from?
The Lithuanian word 'penki' descends directly from the Proto-Indo-European root *pénkʷe, meaning 'five.' This ancient root likely relates to words for the hand, reflecting the fundamental human practice of counting on five fingers.
Full etymology tree
- penki (Lithuanian), 'five'
- inherited *pénki (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'five'
- inherited *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European), 'five'
- derived *penkʷ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'fist ?'
- derived *pn̥kʷ-sti-s (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *penkʷ-ró-s (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *ponkʷ-to- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European), 'five'
- inherited *pénki (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'five'
Ancestors
- *pénki (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris