eight
n.n. the number that comes after seven and before nine. You can write it as the word or the symbol 8.
n. the cardinal number equivalent to the sum of seven and one. Functions as a determiner when preceding a noun or as a noun when referring to the digit or a set of that size.
There are eight chairs around the table.
The office opens at eight in the morning every weekday.
The spider is easily identified by its eight legs and the distinct pattern on its thorax.
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.
When used as a numeral, it functions as a determiner before a noun; as a noun, it can be pluralized to refer to multiple instances of the digit.