▪ I. eight, a. and n.
(eɪt)
Forms: α. 1 ahta, eahta, æhte, 2 ehte, (Orm.) ehhte, 3 æhte, eahte, 3–5 eyȝt(e, eiȝ-, eih-, eyhte, (3 eȝte, eyth), 4–6 eyght(e, (4 eheit, heyt, eyt, ȝit(t, 5 eght, eyȝthe), 6– eight. β. 3–5 acht, aght, aȝt(e, aht(e, Sc. auht(e, 5 Sc. awcht, 4– Sc. aucht, 6– Sc. aught.
[Com. Teut. and Aryan: OE. ahta, eahta, æhte, Northumb. æhto, = OFris. achta, achte, acht, OS. ahto (Du. acht), OHG. ahto (MHG. ahte, mod.G. acht), ON. (*ahta) átta (Sw. åtta, Da. otte), Goth. ahtau; cf. L. octo, Gr. ὀκτώ, OIr. ocht, Lith. asztůnì, Skr. ashtáu.]
The cardinal numeral next after seven, represented by the symbols 8 or viii.
A. as adj.
1. a. In concord with n. expressed.
| Beowulf 2075 (Th.) Heht ða..eahta mearas..on flet teon. a 1000 Menologium 95 (Gr.) Þæs emb ahta and niᵹon Dogera rimes. 1070 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) Turold abbot and æhte siþe twenti Frencisce men mid him. c 1200 Ormin 4327 Rihht ehhte siþe an hunndredd. a 1225 Ancr. R. Pref. 23 This an Boc is todealet in eahte lesse Boke. 1297 R. Glouc. (1810) 385 As in þe ȝer of grace a þousend ȝer yt was And four score & eyȝte. a 1300 Cursor M. 188 He heled on al vnfere Þat seke was thritte and aht yeir. 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 523 Aucht hundreth armyt, I trow, thai weir. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. viii. 104 Aucht hundyr wynter and seventy. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon 210, I shall make them to be accompanyed of eyghte erles. 1513–75 Diurn. Occurr. (1833) 10 In the year of God j{supm}. v{supc}. twantie aucht yeiris. 1541 Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 80 In eight the first yeeres of his empire. 1631 Milton Epit. Mchness. Winchester 7 Summers three times eight save one She had told. a 1758 Ramsay Poems (1844) 83 Twa times aught bannacks in a heap. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 182 The Bard..strains from hard-bound brains, eight lines a year. 1885 Ball Story of the Heavens 146 An interval of eight years. |
b. (an) eight days = a week.
| c 1160 Hatton Gosp. John xx. 26 Efter ehte [c 1000 eahta] daᵹen hys leorning-cnihtes wæren inne. 1340 Ayenb. 45 Naȝt uor ane monþe ne to eȝte dayes: ac ine one zelue day. 1611 Bible Luke ix. 28 About an eight dayes after these sayings. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 194 Eight Days after, prick them forth at distances. |
2. a. With ellipsis of
n., which may usually be supplied from context.
| c 1205 Lay. 26502 Þer achte þer niȝene. a 1225 Ancr. R. 334 Al þene world, bute eihte i þen arche. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 331 Þis meyny of aȝte I schal saue of monnez saulez. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 84 Þe date was a þousand & fourscore & auhte. c 1340 Cursor M. 1927 Ȝou ȝitt haue I forborn..My brode benesoun I ȝou ȝyue. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. x. 521 For awcht or ten In comowne prys sawld wes þen. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 13 We, acht, acht, and neyn, and ten is this. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 161 b, Our Lords beatitudes.. ar rakened aught in number as follouis. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 638 Eight that were left to make a purer world. |
b. esp. With omission of
hours; as
eight o'clock, etc.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. iii. 210 Let him be sent for tomorrow, eight a clocke to haue amends. 1601 ― Twel. N. v. i. 205 His eyes were set at eight i'th' morning. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 263 ¶1, I went to see him..about Eight a Clock in the Evening. Mod. We breakfast at eight. |
c. Prosody.
in eight and six (four, etc.): in lines alternately consisting of those numbers of syllables. See B. 2 d.
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 25 It shall be written in eight and sixe. |
† d. piece of eight (reals): the Spanish ‘dollar’ or ‘piastre’ (
Sp. pieza de á ocho).
Obs. exc. Hist.| 1699 Temple Ess. Constit. & Int. Empire Wks. 1731 I. 111 Crying up the Pieces of Eight. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. (1744) II. 129 At Rambang I bought a cow..for two Pieces of Eight. 1790 Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 163 The Salisbury..took a Spanish ship, with one hundred and fifty thousand pieces of eight on board. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Isl. 225 Pieces of eight. |
3. Coupled with a higher cardinal or ordinal numeral following, so as to form a compound (cardinal or ordinal) numeral.
| 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 485 The eight and fortieth Chapter abideth in the exposition of the same text. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 259 Every year, upon the eight and twenty day of August, they observe a solemn feast. 1832 Marryat N. Foster xxii, D—n your eight-and-twenties! |
B. as
n. 1. The abstract number eight.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxi. (1495) 922 One doo to seuen makyth the nombre of eyghte. 1808 Wilford in Asiat. Res. VIII. 289 Seven is a fortunate number among the Hindus: eight among the Baudd'hists. |
2. A set of eight persons or things.
a. Card-playing. A card marked with eight pips.
| 1598 Florio, Otto, the number of eight, an eight vpon the cards. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester in Singer Hist. Cards 341 Then he plays his eight of hearts. |
b. The crew of a rowing boat, consisting of eight oarsmen; a boat for eight oarsmen.
the Eights: boat-races at the University of Oxford and elsewhere between the boats of the different colleges, which take place in the Summer Term. Hence
Eights Week.
| 1847 Illust. Lond. News 28 Aug. 142/1, I rowed in a fairish ‘eight’. 1871 M. Collins Mrq. & Merch. I. i. 6 He..could not be persuaded to be one of the University eight. 1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 27 May 6/1 (Oxf. Notes), Tomorrow the eights week will come to an end. 1898 S. Le Blanc-Smith in W. A. Morgan The ‘House’ on Sport 302 It is more difficult to obtain eight such men than to obtain four, added to which the eight being the heavier boat..greater rigidity is necessitated in the thowl-pin. 1908 Daily Chron. 21 May 4/6 Oxford has every right to distinguish her annual inter-college races..as ‘The Eights’. 1911 Beerbohm Zuleika D. vi. 81 Isn't it a lovely day for the Eights? 1955 Times 6 June 7/7, I noticed in your issue of May 30 your Eights Week chart... You record a double overbump... I should like to know whether this feat has ever been accomplished before in Eights? Ibid. 25 July 3/6 Beaumont College, who won their juniors at Molesey a week ago, followed it up by winning the junior-senior eights. 1962 Ibid. 13 Feb. 4/6 They have offered to build a racing eight by the hot⁓moulded effort. |
c. Bibliography.
in eights: an expression indicating the number of leaves in a sheet of an early printed book.
| 1858 Lowndes Bibliogr. s.v. Caxton, It [the Cronicles] terminates on the recto of Y 6 in eights. 1883 Gregor in Rolland's Crt. Venus Introd. 31 It is a quarto, and consists of A to I in eights. c 1884 Brit. Mus. Cat., Sarum Primer (1538) Register: sigs. A–T, in eights, except T which has four leaves. |
d. Metre.
in eights: in lines of eight syllables. So
in eights and sixes (fours, etc.): in alternate lines of those lengths. Chiefly said of hymns.
3. The figure (8) representing this number; hence anything in the form of an 8;
esp. a figure made on the ice in skating. Also
figure (of) eight; sometimes
attrib.| 1607 Dekker Knts. Conjur. (1842) 15 All our courses are but figures of eight. 1842 Tennyson Epic 10 Cutting eights that day upon the pond. 1851 Sir F. Palgrave Norm. & Eng. I. 626 The thrice-repeated eight, the eight hundred and eighty and eight. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 1 What is a figure of eight knot used for? 1876 A. Arnold Persia in Contemp. Rev. June 42 One is surprised to see a European cutting figures of eight upon frozen pools. 1887 Cornh. Mag. Mar. 255 They danced a figure 8 chain. |
4. Slang
phr. one over the eight: one alcoholic drink too many. (
Cf. one numeral a., etc., 1 d.)
| 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 88 One over the eight, one drink too many. Slightly intoxicated, the presumption being that an average ‘moderate’ man can safely drink eight glasses of beer. 1928 Daily Express 3 Aug. 7/4 Luton magistrate: What does he mean by ‘one over the eight’? (‘A glass too many’?) |
C. Comb., as
eight-angled,
eight-celled,
eight-manned,
eight-oared,
eight-rowed,
eight-sided,
eight-spoked,
eight threaded,
eight-wheeled adjs.; combined with
ns. forming
adjs. of dimension, etc., as
eight-bore,
eight-inch,
eight-line,
eight-ounce,
eight-penny;
eight-bearer,
eight-company,
eight-dog;
eight-pointer [
pointer 10],
eight-wheeler,
eight-yarder;
eight-day adj.;
eight-coupled a., having eight coupled wheels;
eight-day clock, a clock that goes for eight days without winding up;
eight-foil Her. (see
quot.);
eight-oar a. (of a boat), manned by eight rowers; also as
n.;
eight-shaft, a kind of corded fabric;
eightsman, one of the crew of an eight-oar. (
Eight pence is almost always written as one word,
usu. without hyphen.)
| 1656 W. Dugard Gate Lat. Unl. 155 A Dye, four-square though six-sided, and *eight angled. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 17 Dec. 7/2 An *eight-bearer yellow chair. |
| 1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-Fowl Shooting 23 For flight-shooting, an *8-bore [gun] is as large as is advantageous, and a 10 is sufficiently small. |
| 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 521 The neck appears to form..an *eight-celled rosette. |
| 1900 Daily News 26 June 3/5 An *eight-company battalion. |
| 1893 English Mechanic 14 Apr. 181/1 (heading) *Eight-coupled goods engines. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 3 Oct. 7/3 One of the standard eight-coupled goods engines. 1904 C. S. Lake Locomotive 60 Goods engines with eight-coupled wheels. |
| 1741 Richardson Pamela IV. xiii. 77 Being wound up..once a Week, like a good *Eight-day Clock. 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz ii, He took to pieces the eight-day clock. 1850 Mrs. Browning Poems I. 293 An eight-day watch had watchëd she. 1866 Howells Venet. Life xviii. 278 Little eight-day-old Venetians. |
| 1876 Coursing Calendar 56 An *eight-dog stake was added to the card in the evening. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 660 His patent locomotive engine, with two *eight-inch cylinders, weighs five tons. 1860 All Y. Round No. 73. 548 The cost of an eight-inch cast-iron gun..is about a hundred pounds. |
| 1847 Gloss. Terms Brit. Her., Huit-foil, Eight-foil, or Double quatrefoil, an *eight leaved flower used as a mark of cadency for the ninth son. |
| 1864 Hazlitt Early Pop. Poetry IV. 19 In four *eight-line stanzas. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Eight-line Pica. A type whose face has eight times the length of pica. |
| 1897 Daily News 3 Feb. 6/4 A woman riding one among seven men on an *eight-manned wheel. |
| 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke xii. (1874) 105 An *eight-oar lay under the bank. 1862 Sat. Rev. 15 Mar. 300 If Mr. Urquhart could persuade the Universities to substitute Turkish baths for eight-oars. |
| 1874 K. H. Digby Temple of Memory iii. 40 Their *eight oar'd races. Ibid. 41 Their eight-oar'd crew felt quite in Heav'n. |
| 1886 Outing (U.S.) VIII. 161/1 On one side an *eight-ounce rod, a thread of silk [etc.]. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 119 A Trifle, some *eight-penny matter. 1678 Lond. Gaz. No. 1348/4 Eight pieces of Eight-peny taffaty Ribon. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 135 Nails of sorts..8, 10, 24, 30, and 40-penny nails. |
| 1909 Daily Chron. 28 Sept. 4/5 A good *eight-pointer, weighing over 15 stone. |
| 1838 Mass. Agric. Rep. 1837 24 The Pickwacket corn, an early *eight-rowed variety. 1869 Rep. Comm. Agric. 1868 (U.S.) 431 A small variety of eight-rowed corn. 1944 Burpee's Seeds 26 If you want the best and sweetest for your table, it's true 8-rowed Golden Bantam. |
| 1840 L'pool Jrnl. 4 July 1/2 A great Stock of Fustians, in Beaverteens..*Eightshaft, Constitution, and other excellent Cords. |
| 1823 H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 133 A series of double *eight-sided pyramids might result from class h, i, and k. |
| 1882 Standard 16 Mar. 2, I am, Sir, your obedient servant, An *Eightsman. |
| 1884 F. Krohn tr. Glaser de Cew's Magn. & Dyn.-electr. Mach. 33 The armature consists of an *eight-spoked wheel. |
| 1696 Bp. Patrick Comm. Ex. xxviii. (1697) 536 Some will have it that [Maschzar]..signifies *eightthredded Linen. |
| 1906 Daily Chron. 1 Mar. 7/2 *Eight-wheeled first and third-class carriages. |
| 1904 Westm. Gaz. 28 Dec. 3/1 A special mail train consisting of twelve *eight-wheelers. |
| 1930 Morning Post 17 June 14/7 He holed an *eight-yarder for a 2 at the sixth. |
▪ II. eight obs. form of
ait.
| 1664 Evelyn Sylva 42 Some do also plant Oziers in their Eights like Quick-sets, thick, and neer the water. |