Etymologically
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eighteen

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈeɪ.tiːn/, /ˌeɪˈtiːn/[1]
  • US: /ˈeɪ(t).tin/, /ˌeɪ(t)ˈtin/[1]

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

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)