Old English fif, from Proto-Germanic *fimfe (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon fif, Dutch vijf, Old Norse fimm, Old High German funf, Gothic fimf), from PIE *penkwe- (cf. Sanskrit panca, Greek pente, Latin quinque, Old Church Slavonic peti, Lithuanian penke, Old Welsh pimp). The sound shift that removed the *-m- is a regular development involving Old English, Old Frisian, and Old Saxon (cf. thought, from stem of think; couth from *kunthaz; us from *uns.
Slang five-finger discount "theft" is from 1966. Five o'clock shadow attested by 1937. The original five-year plan was 1928 in the U.S.S.R.
The hand; the five fingers (1950s+ Jive talk)
Related Termsgive someone five, hang five, nine-to-five, slip (or give) me five, take five
a ball game played by two or four players in a court enclosed on three or four sides, the hard ball being struck with the hand usually protected by a glove. The derivation of the word fives is doubtful. It may be from an old game called Longue Paume, in which five on a side played, or from allusion to the five fingers of the hand or from the fact that winners formerly had to make five points