vijf (Dutch)

Where does "vijf" come from?

The Dutch word 'vijf' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *pénkʷe, meaning 'five.' Over millennia, it evolved through Proto-Germanic and Old Dutch before stabilizing in Middle Dutch, consistently maintaining its numerical meaning. Linguists believe this ancient root may be distantly related to words for 'finger' or 'fist,' reflecting the primordial way humans counted on their hands.

Full etymology tree

• vijf (Dutch), 'five'
  • inherited vijf (Middle Dutch), 'five'
    • inherited fīf (Old Dutch), 'five'
      • inherited *fimf (Proto-West Germanic), 'five'
        • inherited *fimf (Proto-Germanic), 'five'
          • inherited *pémpe (Pre-Germanic)
            • inherited *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European), 'five'

Ancestors

• vijf (Middle Dutch)
• fif (Old Dutch)
• *fimf (Proto-West Germanic)
• *fimf (Proto-Germanic)
• *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European)

Descendants and derived words

• vyf (Afrikaans)
• vijfhoek (Dutch)
• vijfje (Dutch)
• vijfling (Dutch)
• vijfvingerkruid (Dutch)
• vāif (Jersey Dutch)
• feifi (Sranan Tongo)

Updated July 2026

More words starting with V

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