six

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sis/^[1]
• IPA: /si.z‿/^[1]
• IPA: /si/^[1]

Forms

six (invariable)^[1][2] Old French sis (1080); six from the 13th or late 14th century (Eustache Deschamps).^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sis, inherited from Latin sex (“six”).^[2][3][6][7] Wiktionary traces the Latin numeral to Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs.^[1] Rey compares Ancient Greek ἕξ (héx), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍃 (saihs) and Sanskrit षष् (ṣáṭ); Welsh chwech supposes an initial /sw/.^[3]

Cognate with Italian sei, Spanish seis and Portuguese seis.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) Gualter kills six of the Spaniards: E Gualter .VI. e l'arcevesque .V.^[2]

Semantic evolution

As a noun it named the six on a die (13th century), a playing card (1636, earlier in 1571) and the double six in dominoes (1792).^[3][9] It is used for the sixth day of a month (Retz, 1669) and as an ordinal (Charles six, 1871).^[2][3] À la six-quatre-deux “any old how” is recorded by Delvau in 1867; its origin is not clear.^[3] The cycling Six Jours date from before 1922, and the guerre des Six Jours from 1967.^[3][4]

Wiktionary notes that the three pronunciations of six (/si/ before a consonant, /siz/ before a vowel, /sis/ at a pause) are a remnant of the Old and Middle French treatment of final ⟨s⟩ and ⟨x⟩.^[1][10]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – VI, Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1120 – Sis, Voyage of Saint Brendan.^[2]
• 13th century – The six of a die.^[3]
• 1636 – A playing card.^[9]
• 1867 – À la six-quatre-deux.^[3]
• 1967 – The Six-Day War.^[3]

Meanings

Numeral

1. six: six ans, à six heures.^[1][2]
2. (as an ordinal) Sixth: page six, Charles six.^[8][3]

Noun

1. The number six; the figure 6.^[3][2]
2. The six of dice, cards or dominoes: le six de cœur.^[3][8]
3. The sixth day of the month: le six juillet.^[2]

Word family

• sixième
• sizain

Related words

• seize
• soixante
• hexagone

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 554a
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert