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eight

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eight

  [eyt]
Use eight in a Sentence
–noun
1. a cardinal number, seven plus one.
2. a symbol for this number, as 8 or VIII.
3. a set of this many persons or things, as the crew of an eight-oared racing shell.
4. a playing card the face of which bears eight pips.
5. Informal.
a. an automobile powered by an eight-cylinder engine.
b. an eight-cylinder engine.
–adjective
6. amounting to eight in number.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME eighte, OE (e)ahta; c. D acht, OS, OHG ahto (G acht), ON ātta, Goth ahtau, L octō, Gk okt, OIr ocht, Welsh wyth, Breton eiz, Tocharian B okt, Lith aštuonì, Albanian tetë, Armenian uth, Pers hasht, Skt aṣṭáu; appar. an old dual in form, but not clear of what
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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California Eight
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eight   (āt)   
n.  

  1. The cardinal number equal to 7 + 1.

  2. The eighth in a set or sequence.

  3. Something having eight parts, units, or members, especially:

    1. Sports An eight-oared racing shell.

    2. An eight-cylinder engine or motor vehicle.


[Middle English eighte, from Old English eahta; see oktō(u) in Indo-European roots.]
eight adj. & pron.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

eight 
O.E. eahta, æhta, from P.Gmc. *akhto(u) (cf. O.N. atta, Ger. acht, Goth. ahtau), from PIE *okto (cf. Gk. okto, L. octo, O.Ir. ocht-n, Bret. eiz, Skt. astau, Avestan ashta). Klein calls it "an old dual form, orig. meaning 'twice four.' " Meaning "eight-man crew of a rowing boat" is from 1847. The Spanish piece of eight (1699) was so called because it was worth eight reals. To be behind the eight ball "in trouble" (1932) is a metaphor from shooting pool. Eighteen is O.E. eahtatene; eighty is O.E. hundeahtatig, from hund- "ten." Eighty-six, slang for "eliminate" (1936), originated as lunch counter slang, a cook's word for "none" when asked for something not available, probably rhyming slang for nix.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

eight

see behind the eight ball.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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