Etymologically
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six

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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