quincunx

For Sir Francis Galton's machine for demonstrating the normal distribution named "quincunx", see bean machine. A quincunx is the arrangement of five units in the pattern corresponding to the five-spot on dice, playing cards, or dominoes. The quincunx was originally the symbol of the Roman coin of the same name, whose value was five twelfths (quinque + uncia) of an as. Typically, a quincunx consists of five objects arranged in a square, with one object at each of the square's four corners and the fifth in the square's center. If the four corner objects form a rectangle, the pattern is still considered a quincunx.
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n. quincunx

(n.)
The position of planets when distant from each other five signs, or 150¡.
  

(n.)
An arrangement of things by fives in a square or a rectangle, one being placed at each corner and one in the middle; especially, such an arrangement of trees repeated indefinitely, so as to form a regular group with rows running in various directions.
  

(n.)
A quincuncial arrangement, as of the parts of a flower in aestivation. See Quincuncial, 2.
  

A tool that creates frequency distributions. Beads tumble over numerous horizontal rows of pins, which force the beads to the right or left. After a random journey, the beads are dropped into vertical slots. After many beads are dropped, a frequency distribution results. In the classroom, quincunxes are often used to simulate a manufacturing process. The quincunx was invented by English scientist Francis Galton in the 1890s.

N M
quincunx| the five on dice; 5/12| esp. of an as = 5 unciae