From Middle English five, vif, fif, from Old English fīf ("five"), from Proto-West Germanic *fimf ("five"), from Proto-Germanic *fimf ("five") (compare West Frisian fiif, Dutch vijf, German fünf, Norwegian and Swedish fem, Icelandic fimm), from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe (compare Welsh pump, Latin quinque, Tocharian A päñ, Tocharian B piś, Lithuanian penki, Russian пять, Albanian pesë, Ancient Greek πέντε, Armenian հինգ, Persian پنج, Sanskrit पञ्च). cinque, punch, pimp, and Pompeii.
The nasal *m in Proto-Germanic *fimf was lost through a sound change known as the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law.
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