Cinquillo

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A musical rhythm consisting of five distinct notes played in a specific sequence
2. A pattern in music characterized by a grouping of five beats that create a distinctive rhythmic effect
3. A sequence of five notes arranged to form a rhythm commonly used in various musical styles

Etymology: Cinquillo is a Spanish card game, and its name is simply the diminutive of "cinco," meaning "five," so the word is a small five. The Spanish suffix "-illo" creates a little version of a noun, which is why the game's name points back to the five, the card that opens its play. The English word was borrowed directly from Spanish, so it kept its Spanish form and its sense of a game rather than a card or a number. Because the suffix does the real work here, there is little more to the word than that: a five with a diminutive ending, carried over into English as the name of a game.