quin|cunx

quin|cunx «KWIHN kuhngks», noun, plural (for defs. 1 and 2) -cunx|es.

1. an arrangement of five things in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

2. an overlapping arrangement of five petals or leaves, in which two are interior, two are exterior, and one is partly interior and partly exterior.

3. Astrology. an aspect of planets in which they are at a distance of five signs or 150 degrees from each other: »

But the quincunx of heaven runs low, and 'tis time to close the five ports of knowledge (Sir Thomas Browne).

╂[< Latin quīncūnx, -uncis (literally) five-twelfths < quīnque five + uncia an ounce, a twelfth]