eighteen

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English eightetene or eightene,^[2][3] inherited from Old English eahtatēne (also eahtatȳne and eahtatīene),^[2][4][5] from eahta (“eight”) and -tēne, the form of tēn (“ten”) used in compounds.^[2][5][6] It goes back to Proto-Germanic *ahtōutehun, a compound of the Germanic words for eight and ten,^[1][5] and is related to Old Frisian achtatīne, Old Saxon ahtotian, Dutch achttien, Old High German ahtozehan (modern German achtzehn), Old Norse áttján, Swedish adertån and Danish atten.^[5][7][3] The OED explains the English shape of the second element under -teen.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The number one more than seventeen: Old English, in the West Saxon Gospels (Luke 13:4).^[5] Bosworth-Toller quotes Híg him þeówodon eahtatyne geár, "they served him eighteen years", from the Book of Judges.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Middle English forms include ahtene (about 1200) and eightene (late 14th century).^[7] As a noun eighteen could stand for eighteen persons or things understood from the context, such as years of age or pence, from Old English on.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "twice nine", quoting Shakespeare's Cymbeline: "He can't take two from twenty, for his heart, And leave eighteen".^[8] Later uses came from trades and fields: eighteens, a book printed in eighteenmo (1683), an eighteen, an eighteen-pounder gun (1834), and the eighteen-twenties and similar names for decades of the 19th century (1906).^[5][2] In Australia an eighteen is an eighteen-gallon keg of beer (1941),^[9] and an Australian Rules football team.^[10]

Timeline

• Old English – eahtatēne, in the West Saxon Gospels.^[5]
• c. 1200 – ahtene.^[7]
• late 14th century – eightene.^[7]
• 1683 – eighteens, a book in eighteenmo.^[5]
• 1834 – an eighteen-pounder gun.^[5]
• 1906 – eighteen-twenties and similar.^[5]
• 1941 – (Australian) an eighteen-gallon keg of beer.^[9]

Modern meaning

Numeral

1. The cardinal number one more than seventeen, written 18 or XVIII.
2. Amounting to eighteen: eighteen months.

Noun

1. A group or set of eighteen people or things.
2. The eighteenth in a series, especially a clothing size.
3. (Australian Rules football) A team of eighteen players.
4. (Australia, slang) An eighteen-gallon keg of beer.
5. eighteens (printing): a book in eighteenmo.

Word family

• eighteenth
• eighteen-wheeler
• eighteenmo

Related words

• eight
• ten
• -teen
• eighty

Usage notes

In West Durham an eighteen was a grey slate two feet long; the use is obsolete.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ 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)