Word
eight
US/ˈeɪt/
UK/ˈeɪt/
Definitions
01the number 8
num. the number between seven and nine.
num. the cardinal number between seven and nine.
“There are eight chairs around the dining table for our guests.”
“The spider is easily distinguished from insects by its eight legs and lack of antennae.”
02time or age
n. eight o'clock or the age of eight.
n. the eighth hour of the day or the eighth year of a person's life.
“The movie starts at eight, so we should leave now.”
“By the time she was eight, she had already developed a keen interest in classical piano.”
03rowing boat
n. a long, thin boat used in races with eight people rowing.
n. a racing shell propelled by eight rowers, each using a single oar, and steered by a coxswain.
“The university's eight won the race by two lengths.”
“The coach watched from the riverbank as the men's eight maintained a perfect rhythm during their final sprint.”
Usage
Often used to refer to both the boat and the crew collectively.
Synonyms
04playing cards
n. a card in a deck with eight symbols on it.
n. any of the four playing cards in a standard deck with a face value of eight.
“I have two eights in my hand, but I need a king to win.”
“He discarded the eight of hearts, hoping to mislead his opponent about the strength of his remaining hand.”
Etymology
PIE word *oḱtṓw From Middle English eighte, aught, eahte, ahte, from Old English eahta, from Proto-West Germanic ahtō, from Proto-Germanic ahtōu, from Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw. Cognate with Scots aucht (“eight”), West Frisian acht (“eight”), Dutch acht (“eight”), Low German acht (“eight”), German acht (“eight”), Norwegian åtte (“eight”), Swedish åtta (“eight”), Icelandic átta (“eight”), Latin octo (“eight”), Ancient Greek ὀκτώ (oktṓ), Irish ocht (“eight”), among others. False cognate of Tamil எட்டு (eṭṭu), Malayalam എട്ട് (eṭṭŭ).
See ait.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.