Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The cardinal number equal to 7 + 1.
  • noun The eighth in a set or sequence.
  • noun Something having eight parts, units, or members, especially.
  • noun Sports An eight-oared racing shell.
  • noun An eight-cylinder engine or motor vehicle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An obsolete spelling of ait.
  • noun In meter, in lines of eight syllables.
  • noun In companies or ‘teams’ of eight.
  • noun In printing, containing eight pages only: said of a type-form or a printed and folded sheet.
  • One more than seven: a cardinal numeral.
  • noun A number, the sum of seven and one.
  • noun A symbol representing eight units, as 8, or VIII; or viii; hence, a curved outline in the shape of the figure 8.
  • noun A playing-card having eight spots or pips.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete An island in a river; an ait.
  • adjective Seven and one.
  • noun The number greater by a unit than seven; eight units or objects.
  • noun A symbol representing eight units, as 8 or viii.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun cardinal A numerical value equal to 8; the number occurring after seven and before nine.
  • noun Describing a set or group with eight components.
  • noun The digit/figure 8.
  • noun playing cards Any of the four cards in a normal deck with the value eight.
  • noun nautical A light, narrow rowing boat, especially one used in competitive rowing, steered by a cox, in which a eight rowers each have two oars
  • noun rowing, especially in plural A race in which such craft participate

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one
  • noun one of four playing cards in a deck with eight pips on the face
  • noun a group of United States painters founded in 1907 and noted for their realistic depictions of sordid aspects of city life
  • adjective being one more than seven

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English eighte, from Old English eahta; see oktō(u) in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English eight, aught, eahte, ahte, from Old English eahta ("eight"), from Proto-Germanic *ahtōu (“eight”), from Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw. Cognate with Scots aucht ("eight"), West Frisian acht ("eight"), Dutch acht ("eight"), Low German acht ("eight"), German acht ("eight"), Swedish åtta ("eight"), Icelandic átta ("eight"), Latin octo ("eight"), Ancient Greek ὀκτώ (oktō), Irish ocht ("eight").

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Examples

  • 'It must be -- eight o'clock' -- said the gasping voice -- '_eight o'clock_;' and the tone became a whisper, as though the idea thus half involuntarily revealed had been drawn jealously back into the strongholds of consciousness.

    Robert Elsmere Humphry Ward 1885

  • 'It must be -- eight o'clock,' said the gasping voice -- '_eight o'clock_;' and the tone became a whisper, as though the idea thus half involuntarily revealed had been drawn jealously back into the strongholds of consciousness.

    Robert Elsmere Humphry Ward 1885

  • On the day of the new moon, a particular observation was made upon the tide in Malay Road; and it was high water at ten minutes past eight in the morning, or nearly _eight hours and a quarter after_ the moon had passed the lower meridian; and the rise was ten feet two inches.

    A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2 Matthew Flinders 1794

  • Overall, in terms of the classification of the index at the two-digit level, it is seen that, during May 2010, as many as eight industry groups out of the total of 17, had recorded a growth on eight% and more as compared to four a year ago while the number of industry groups that had shown a negative growth had dropped to two from eight.

    Daily News & Analysis 2010

  • According to the swinging of the ship in the evenings, the flood tide ceased to run at eight hours and a half after the moon passed the upper meridian, whereas in the mornings it ceased seven hours and a half after the moon passed below; whether the same difference took place in the times of high water by the shore, I cannot tell; but if the mean of the morning's and evening's tides be taken as the time of high water, it will follow _eight hours after_ the moon, the same nearly as in Malay Road.

    A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2 Matthew Flinders 1794

  • Spa Sublime Day Spa*, Blue Mountains two eight two eight*, Central NSW

    ETravelBlackboard.com 2008

  • How odd that eight lines should have given birth, I really think, to _eight thousand_, including _all_ that has been said, and will be on the subject! "

    Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 3 (of 6) With His Letters and Journals Thomas Moore 1815

  • One Iraqi in eight is killed by illness or violence by the age of 5.

    Sunday Reading 2007

  • The upset win was achieved and, for the first time in this tournament, the French played with flair reminiscent of that with which they won the title eight years ago.

    Maestro Managers 2006

  • The team with the second-best record took the title eight times.

    DealBook 2010

Comments

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  • slumry only loves eight words. This saddens me.

    July 31, 2015

  • St Edmund's College Boat Club (SECBC) is the boat club for members of St Edmund's College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.

    SECBC uses the Cambridge '99 RC boathouse for training and storing its boats. The club has two boats, 'Lily' a men's eight and 'Dotty' a women's eight.

    June 19, 2017