eighty English · revision 39879

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English, Vespasian Psalter|origins=gem-pro *ahtōutēhundą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈeɪ.ti/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|eighti]] (also [[m|enm|eightety]], [[m|enm|eigteti]]),^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) [[inh|ang|eahtatig]], a shortening of the older [[m|ang|hundeahtatig]],^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966)^(Bosworth-Toller) [[inh|gem-pro|*ahtōutēhundą]].^(Wiktionary) The Old English numeral was formed from the prefix [[m|ang|hund-]], used with the tens from seventy upwards and of uncertain origin, [[m|ang|eahta|t=eight]] and [[m|ang|-tiġ|t=a group of ten]];^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) the first element was lost early in the Middle English period, as in [[seventy]].^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline) The suffix, now [[-ty]], is related to [[m|goh|-zug]] and [[m|non|tigr|t=a decade]];^(MWU 2024) the OED traces it to a Germanic plural of a noun meaning "decade".^(OED 2026) [[m|goh|ahtozug]] and [[m|de|achtzig]] are cognates.^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The number eight times ten: in Old English, where the OED's first quotation is from the Vespasian Psalter;^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the shortened Middle English form ''eigteti'' to the late 13th century.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates the word to before the 12th century.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson (1755) defined it as "eight times ten; fourscore",^(Johnson 1755) quoting Shakespeare's line ''Eighty odd years of sorrow have I seen''.^(Johnson 1755) Used as a noun, ''the eighties'' has meant the years from eighty to eighty-nine of a century since 1835,^(OED 2026) and also a person's age between eighty and ninety.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026) In the United States ''an eighty'' was a tract of eighty acres, half a quarter section of public land, from 1842.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – ''eahtatig'', ''hundeahtatig'', eight times ten.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * late 13th century – ''eigteti''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1835 – ''the eighties'', the years 80 to 89 of a century.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1842 – (US) a tract of eighty acres.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # The [[number]] equal to eight times [[ten]], written 80 or LXXX.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''eighties'' (plural): the numbers from 80 to 89, especially the years 80 to 89 of a [[century]] or of a person's age: ''She was still climbing hills in her eighties.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(US, historical)'' A tract of eighty [[acre]]s of land, half a quarter [[section]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[eightieth]]

+ * [[eighty-eight]]

+ * [[eighty-eighth]]

+ * [[eighty-first]]

+ * [[eighty-five]]

+ * [[eighty-four]]

+ * [[eighty-fifth]]

+ * [[eighty-fourth]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[eight]]

+ * [[eighteen]]

+ * [[seventy]]

+ * [[hundred]]

+ * [[-ty]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}