Etymologically
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eight

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English eighte, earlier ehte,[2][3] inherited from Old English eahta, also æhta,[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *akhto,[3][2] the source also of Old Saxon and Old High German ahto (German acht, Dutch acht), Old Norse átta and Gothic ahtau,[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓ(u) (“eight”).[3][5] Its cognates outside Germanic include Latin octō, Greek oktṓ, Old Irish ocht, Lithuanian aštuonì, Sanskrit aṣṭáu and Tocharian A okät.[3][4][6] The Germanic, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit forms seem to continue an Indo-European dual in -ōu, possibly meaning “two fours”.[3] French huit, Italian otto and Spanish ocho come from the Latin word.[2] The -gh- spelling is like that of fight.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English eahta is found about 725, in Beowulf;[3] Middle English ehte is probably from about 1200, in the Ormulum,[3][2] and eighte from about 1378.[3]

Semantic evolution

Eight days meant a week from about 1160.[7] Eight o'clock with the noun left out is from 1598.[7] The Spanish piece of eight, a dollar worth eight reals, is from the 1690s.[2][7] A rowing crew of eight is from 1847.[2] In Scots an aucht days was a few days, a short time.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English eahta.[3]
  • c. 1160 – eight days, a week.[7]
  • c. 1200 – Middle English ehte.[3]
  • c. 1378 – the form eighte.[3]
  • 1690s – piece of eight.[2]
  • 1847 – an eight-man rowing crew.[2]

Modern meaning

Number

  1. The cardinal number that is one more than seven.

Noun

  1. The symbol for this number, 8.
  2. A set or group of eight, especially a rowing crew or its boat.
  3. An eight-cylinder engine or car.

Word family

  • eighteen
  • eightpenny
  • eighty
  • eighty-eight
  • eight ball
  • figure eight
  • figure of eight
  • piece of eight

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)