Forms: 1–2 fíf, 3–5 fif, (3 fifve, 4 fijf, fyf, 5 feyffe, fiffe), 3–4 south. vif, 2–3 south. vyve, 3–6 fyve, 7 Sc. fywe, 3– five. [Com. Teut. and Aryan: OE. fíf, inflected fífe (ME. five, vyve), fífa, fífum (ME. fiven, viven) = OFris. and OS. fîf (Du. vijf), OHG. fimf finf, funf (MHG. vünf, mod.Ger. fünf), ON. fimm (Sw. and Da. fem), Goth. fimf:—OTeut. *fimf(i:—pre-Teut. *pempe, modified by assimilation of consonants from OAryan *penqe, whence Skr. pañca, Lith. penkì, Gr. πέντε, πέμπε, Lat. quīnque, OIrish cóic, Gaulish pempe, OWelsh pimp (mod.Welsh pump).]
The cardinal number next after four, represented by the symbols 5 or V.
A. as adj.
1. In concord with a sb. expressed.
The Five points, (a) the principal points of controversy between the Calvinists and Arminians, relating to predestination, satisfaction, regeneration, grace, and final perseverance; (b) the reforms demanded by the ‘People’s Charter’ of 1838 (see CHARTER sb. 1 d). The Five Ports: the CINQUE PORTS. The five senses, wits: see the sbs.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xvi. 9. Ne ȝe ȝeþenceað þæra fif hlafa and fif þusend manna.
c. 1050. Byrhtferth’s Handboc, in Anglia (1885), VIII. 298. Nim þas an hund tida & þas fif & wyrc fif daȝas.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 746.
| Fif burges wer ùor-inne bi tale, | |
| ðer-fore it hiȝte pentapolis. |
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 7888. Ac þe vif pors of engelond.
1340. Ayenb., 179. Vif þinges specialliche destorbeþ zoþe ssriffþe.
1422. J. Yonge, Priv. Priv., in Secreta Secret. (E.E.T.S.), 180. If þou fynde noght ffyue vpberers þat be lykynge to þe.
1631. J. Weever, Ancient Funerall Monuments, 268. Lord Warden of the fiue ports.
1845. Disraeli, Sybil (1862), 182. The national petition … praying the House to take into consideration the five points in which the working classes deemed their best interests involved; to wit, universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual parliaments, salaried members, and the abolition of the property qualification.
b. Phrases. To know how many (blue) beans make five (see BEAN 6 d); † to come in with (one’s) five eggs (see EGG sb. 4).
2. With ellipsis of sb., which may usually be supplied from context. † A or o five, in five (parts): see A prep.1 6.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxv. 2. Hyra fif wæron dysiȝe, and fif gleawe.
c. 1205. Lay., 25891.
| Þæs bures dure he warp adun: | |
| þat heo to-barst a uiuen. |
a. 1225. Juliana, 71. Alle italde bitale seoue siðe tene & forðre ȝet fiue.
a. 1200. Moral Ode, 28, in Lamb. Hom., 289. Betere his on almesse before þanne ben after vyue.
c. 1330. King of Tars, in Eng. Stud., XI. 33. Him þouȝt his hert is brast o fiue.
1591. in Nichols, Progr. Q. Eliz., III. 117. In this square they (beeing stript out of their dublets) played, five to five, with the hand-ball, at bord and cord (as they tearme it) to so great liking of her Highnes, that she graciously deyned to beholde their pastime more then an houre and a halfe.
1611. Bible, Isa. xxx. 17. At the rebuke of fiue, shall ye flee, till ye be left as a beacon vpon the top of a mountaine, and as an ensigne on a hill.
1823. Byron, Juan, X. xxxiii.
| But where thermometers sunk down to ten, | |
| Or five, or one, or zero, she could never | |
| Believe that virtue thaw’d before the river. |
b. esp. of the hour of the day, as five o’clock, etc.
1552. Huloet, Ffiue of the clocke, hora quinta.
1603. Shaks., Meas. for M., IV. ii. 127. For my better satisfaction, let mee haue Claudios head sent me by fiue.
1737. Pope, Hor. Epist., II. i. 161.
| Time was, a sober Englishman wou’d knock | |
| His servants up, and rise by five o’clock, | |
| Instruct his Family in ev’ry rule, | |
| And send his Wife to Church, his Son to school. |
1842. Tennyson, Will Waterproof’s Lyrical Monologue, i.
| O plump head-waiter at The Cock, | |
| To which I most resort, | |
| How goes the time? ’Tis five o’clock. | |
| Go fetch a pint of port. |
3. Coupled with a higher cardinal or ordinal numeral following, so as to form a compound (cardinal or ordinal) numeral.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen., 1131 (Gr.). Wintra hafde fif and hund-teontiȝ.
a. 1225. Leg. Kath., 2529.
| I Nouembris moneð | |
| þe fif & twentuðe dai. |
1297. R. Glouc. (1724), 3. Fyue and þritti schiren heo maden in Engelonde.
1535. Coverdale, Josh. xiv. 10. This daie am I fyue and foure score yeare olde.
1579. Fulke, Heskins’ Parl., 382. The fiue and twentieth Chapter proceedeth vpon the same text by Damascene and Haimo.
1610. Shaks., Temp., III. ii. 16. For my part the Sea cannot drowne mee, I swam ere I could recouer the shore, fiue and thirtie Leagues off and on.
1786. Burns, Cry to Scotch Represent., xxiv.
| An’ now, ye chosen Five-and-Forty, | |
| May still your Mither’s heart support ye. |
4. = FIFTH 1 and 2.
c. 1550. R. Weaver, Lusty Juventus, in Hazl., Dodsley, II. 94.
| Read the Five to the Galatians, and there you shall see, | |
| That the flesh rebelleth against the spirit, | |
| And that your own flesh is your most utter enemy, | |
| If in your soul’s health you do delight. |
1660. Bloome, Archit., B. The five part of one such part.
B. as sb.
1. The abstract number five.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XIX. cxviii. (1495), 922. One done to foure makyth the seconde odde nombre, that is the nombre of fiue and hyghte Quinarius.
1876. Mason, Eng. Gram. (ed. 21), § 62, note. We say ‘twice five is ten.’
2. A set of five things. a. Cards and Dominos. A card or domino marked with five pips.
1674. Cotton, Gamester, vi. 80. Before you begin the Game at Picket, you must throw out of the Pack the Deuces, Treys, Fours, and Fives, and play with the rest of the Cards, which are in number thirty and six.
1870. Hardy & Ware, Mod. Hoyle, 81. Suppose your hand consists of a four, five, and six of spades, and a five of diamonds is turned up. Ibid., 95. The next player then plays 5/5 to the single five.
b. Cricket. A hit for which five runs are scored.
1859. All Year Round, No. 13, 23 July, 306/2. The loose balls we hit for fours and fives; the good ones we put away for singles.
3. pl. † a. = five cards; see C 2.
1674. Cotton, Gamester, 150. All-Fours is play’d in Kent, and Fives in Ireland.
b. The five fingers; also, bunch of fives: the fist, the hand; to use (one’s) fives: to fight with (one’s) fists. A fives (slang): a street fight (Farmer).
1825. C. M. Westmacott, Eng. Spy, I. 290. Floored many a youkel with their bunch of fives.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., ii. Smart chap that cabman—handled his fives well.
1863. Reade, Hard Cash, xxxiv. ‘Now look at that bunch of fives,’ continued the master; and laid a hand, white and soft as a duchess’s, on the table.
c. (See FIVES2.)
4. † a. pl. Five-penny nails. b. pl. Gloves, shoes, etc., of the fifth size. c. Short for five-pound note. d. pl. Short for five-per-cents.
a. 1629. MS. Acc. St. John’s Hosp. Canterb., For one hundred of fiues and one hundred of sixes, xjd.
b. 16[?]. Description of Love (1629), I loued a Lasse.
| Her wast exceeding small, | |
| The fiues did fit her shooe. |
Mod. What size gloves does she take? Fives.
c. 1837. Dickens, Pickw., ii. ‘I want change for a five.’ ‘I only vishes as how I could keep a five pun’ note as long as you does,’ said the waiter doggedly; ‘for to my certain knowledge you’ve wanted change for that there von upwards of three year.’
1860. F. W. Robinson, Grandmother’s Money, II. IV. iii. 290. I’ll bet ten to one in fives upon it.
d. 1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, xx. Look what the funds were on the 1st of March—what the French fives were when I bought for the account.
c. Comb.
1. a. Combined with sbs., forming adjs., as five-act, -bar, -card, -day, -guinea, -minute, -pound, -storey, -wheel, -year-old.
1882. L. Tennyson, in Daily News, 10 Oct. (1892), 2/2. There is no room in a simple drama like The Promise of May for the contrast of action that can be provided in a busy *five-act tragedy full of incident.
1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 37, 5 July, ¶ 2. [She] moves as if she were on her Nag, and going to take a *Five-Bar Gate.
1823. Byron, Juan, VIII. lv.
| So was his blood stirr’d while he found resistance, | |
| As is the hunter’s at the five-bar gate, | |
| Or double post and rail, where the existence | |
| Of Britain’s youth depends upon their weight. |
1870. Hardy & Ware, Mod. Hoyle, 81. No hand in *five-card cribbage can be made to count so many as this, as there are fewer cards.
1850. Mrs. Browning, Poems, I. 256.
| The winds were welcome as they swept: | |
| God’s *five-day work he would accept, | |
| But let the rest go by. |
1706. Lond. Gaz., No. 4208/3. A Purse, with 3 *Five-Guinea Pieces.
1884. F. J. Britten, The Watch and Clockmakers’ Handbook, 224. *Five-minute repeaters give after the hour the number of five minutes past it.
1691. Lond. Gaz., No. 2626/4. 100l. in Old Gold and *Five Pound Pieces.
1806. T. S. Surr, Winter in Lond. (ed. 3), III. 255. I have inclosed you a five pound bank note.
1887. Roy. Proclam., in Standard, 18 May, 3/2. Every Five pound Piece should have … our effigy.
1679. Exec. Bury, 6. Four *Five-shilling pieces they will afford for Fifteen shillings good Money.
1870. Ramsay, Remin., vi. (ed. 18), 202. By mistake, he dropped into the plate at the door a five-shilling-piece.
1769. St. James’ Chron., 10–11 Aug., 3/4. *Five-year-olds 9 st.
1892. Daily News, 26 Feb., 5/7. Taylor saw Robinson pick up a five-year-old girl.
b. In parasynthetic adjs. with suffix -ED2, as five-barred, -beaded, -cornered, -foiled, -lobed, -pointed, -rayed, -toed, -toothed.
1733. Swift, On Poetry, 15.
| A founder’d Horse will oft debate, | |
| Before he tries a *Five-barr’d Gate. |
1820. Clare, Rural Life, 171.
| Like lightning o’er the hills they sweep, | |
| The readiest roads they go; | |
| The five-barr’d gate with ease they leap: | |
| Hark forward, tally ho! |
1864. Tennyson, Aylmer’s Field, 184.
| Where once with Leolin at her side the girl, | |
| Nursing a child, and turning to the warmth | |
| The tender pink *five-beaded baby-soles. |
1483. Cath. Angl., 132/2. *Fyve cornerd, pentagonum.
1658. Sir T. Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, iii. The Circular branches of the Oak, which being five-cornered, in the tender annuall sprouts.
1860. Ruskin, Mod. Paint., V. VI. vii. § 13. 60. The *five-foiled star at its extremity.
1823. Crabb, Techn. Dict., *Five-lobed, quinquelobatus.
1777. Pennant, Zool., IV. 54. Asterias [Beaded] … smooth above the aperture; below *five-pointed.
1802. Bingley, Anim. Biog. (1813), III. 433, heading. The Common or *Five-rayed Star-fish.
1854. Owen, in Circ. Sc. (c. 1865), II. 82/1. The *five-toed or pentadactyle structure.
1877–84. F. E. Hulme, Wild Fl., p. vii. Calyx tubulate, *five-toothed.
c. In parasynthetic sbs. with suffix -ER1 (chiefly colloq.), denoting individuals of a certain rank or size, as five-boater, -master, -rater.
1887. Pall Mall G., 25 July, 2/1. The iron-sheathed five-masters the Agincourt and the Minotaur.
1889. Century Dict., Five-boater, a whaling-vessel carrying five boats; a large whaler.
1892. Daily News, 24 May, 2/6. The new Gosport five-rater.
d. Comb. in advbl. sense (= in five parts) with pa. pples., imitating scientific L. words with quinque- or quinqui-.
1823. Crabb, Techn. Dict., Five-cleft, quinquefidus. Ibid. Five-parted, quinquepartitus.
2. Special comb., as five-acre, a piece of land consisting of five acres; † five-cards (see quot.); five-corner(s (Austral.), the fruit of Styphelia triflora, or the plant itself; † five-double a., (a) five-fold; (b) consisting of five twice over; also adv.; five-finger exercise, a piece of music written for the purpose of affording practice in the movement of the fingers in pianoforte playing; five-finger-tied a. (nonce-wd.), ? tied with all the fingers of the hand; † five-foot = FIVE-FINGER 2; five-lined a., consisting of or marked with five lines, esp. of a parliamentary ‘whip’ with five underlinings to denote urgency; five-maled a., nonce-wd. having five male organs or stamens, pentandrous; Five-mile Act, an act passed in 1665 forbidding Non-conformist teachers who refused to take the non-resistance oath, to come within five miles of any town, etc.; five-per-cents., stock or shares paying five per cent. interest on their nominal value; † five-piece, a five-pound piece; five-score, rarely used for ‘a hundred’ (Shaks.); five-stroke (Billiards), a stroke by which five points are scored; five-yearly a., celebrated every five years, quinquennial. Also, five-o’clock (see A. 2 b), used attrib. in five-o’clock tea (colloq. shortened a five o’clock).
1863. Tennyson, Grandfather, xx.
| Pattering over the boards, she comes and goes at her will, | |
| While Harry is in the *five-acre and Charlie ploughing the hill. |
1674. Cotton, Gamester, 123–4. *Five-Cards is an Irish Game, and is as much play’d in that Kingdom, and that for considerable sums of money…. There are but two can play at it, and there are dealt five Cards a piece.
1888. Boldrewood, Robbery under Arms, xxxiii. (1890), 255. You won’t turn a *five-corner into a quince, or a geebung into an orange, twist and twine, and dig and water as you like.
1552. Huloet, *Ffyue double, quincuplex.
1591. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. ii. 1103.
| O fair, five-double Round, Sloth’s Foe apparent, | |
| Life of the World, Daies, Months, & Yeers own Parent. |
1594. 2nd Report Dr. Faustus, xxviii., in Thoms, Prose Rom. (1828), III. 103. They brought store of fletchery to them in carts, which were there disburdened, so every archer being five double furnished.
1606. Shaks., Tr. & Cr., V. ii. 157.
| And with another knot *fiue finger tied, | |
| The fractions of her faith, orts of her loue: | |
| The fragments, scraps, the bits, and greazie reliques, | |
| Of her ore-eaten faith, are bound to Diomed. |
1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Five-foot [printed foor] or Star-fish.
1659. Torriano, Stellione, the star-fish, or *five-foot-fish.
1787. Sir J. Hawkins, Johnson, 418. Roubiliac called for paper, and scored thereon a few *five-lined staves, which having done, Goldsmith proceeded to play, and Roubiliac to write.
1884. L’Pool Mercury, 18 Feb., 5/6. The following five-lined whip … has been issued to members.
a. 1794. Sir W. Jones, Tales (1807), 171.
| It fortun’d, at an idle hour, | |
| This *five-mal’d single-femal’d flow’r | |
| One balmy morn of fruitful May | |
| Through vales and meadows took its way. |
1671. Marvell, Reh. Transp., I. Wks. (Grosart), III. 224. I thought he deserved to be within the *‘five-mile Act,’ and not to come within that distance of any corporation.
1689. Apol. Failures Walker’s Accus., 24. Five-mile-Acts.
1871. Ld. Shaftesbury, in Hodder, Life (1886), III. 307. *Five-o’clock tea, that pernicious, unprincipled, and stomach-ruining habit.
1882. Worc. Exhib. Catal., iii. 4. Five o’clock tea sets in fine porcelain.
1886. Punch, 16 Jan., 36/2. Ladies invite their friends to ‘a five-o’clock.’
1667. Pepys, Diary, 21 Sept. This day also came out first the new *five-pieces in gold, coined by the Guiny Company.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, xxii. ‘How well he made that *five stroke, eh?’
1618. Bolton, Florus, II. vii. (1636), 114–5. This proclamation was made by the publick officer in the Theater of Nemia, at the Quinquennal, or *five-yeerely playes!
