cinci (Romanian)
Where does "cinci" come from?
The Romanian word 'cinci' comes directly from the Latin 'quinque', meaning five. This Latin term traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root 'pénkʷe', which is connected to ancient words for 'fist' and 'finger' and serves as the ancestor for many languages, including the English word 'five'.
Full etymology tree
- cinci (Romanian), 'five'
- inherited cīnque (Latin), 'alternative form of quīnque (with dissimilation of /kʷ–kʷ/ to /k–kʷ/)'
- inherited quīnque (Latin), 'five; 5'
- inherited *kʷenkʷe (Proto-Italic), 'five'
- inherited *pénkʷe (Proto-Indo-European), 'five'
- inherited *kʷenkʷe (Proto-Italic), 'five'
- inherited quīnque (Latin), 'five; 5'
- inherited cīnque (Latin), 'alternative form of quīnque (with dissimilation of /kʷ–kʷ/ to /k–kʷ/)'
Ancestors
Descendants and derived words
- cinzeci (Romanian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris