six-fifty
UK[ˌsɪks ˈfɪfti]US[ˌsɪks ˈfɪfti]
n
A price, amount, or model number of six hundred and fifty (650), especially used in informal or commercial contexts.
n
(slang, US) A .357 Magnum caliber handgun, from the .357 caliber being approximately 0.357 inches in diameter.
Morpheme Breakdown
six
fifty
six
number
fifty
number
Etymology
The compound "six-fifty" is a modern English numerical construction formed by combining two distinct cardinal numbers. "Six" descends from the ancient Proto-Indo-European root swéḱs, which passed into Germanic as sehs and stabilized in English. "Fifty" has a more layered history, originating from the Old English fīftig, meaning "five tens," built on the root fīf (five) and the multiplicative suffix -tig. When combined, the terms follow the standard English convention for naming multiples of ten after one hundred, creating a concise label for the quantity 650. Its evolution into specific slang, such as denoting a firearm caliber, demonstrates how numerical designations can become metonyms for objects characterized by those numbers.
Analysis
Structure: six (number) + fifty (number)
- six: From Old English siex, sex, from Proto-Germanic sehs, from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs. Functions as the cardinal number 6.
- fifty: From Old English fīftig (from fīf "five" + -tig group of ten), from Proto-Germanic fimf tigiwiz. Functions as the cardinal number 50.
Examples
The classic car was advertised for sale at six-fifty.
He always carries a six-fifty for protection when hiking in remote areas.
Please refer to model six-fifty for the specifications in the technical manual.