Etymograph

English

eightfold

Eightfold comes from Old English eahta ‘eight’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*oḱtṓw1‘eight’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ahtōu1‘eight’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ahtō1‘eight’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eahta2‘eight’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150eahtafeald3
  6. Englishtodayeightfold3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English eahta
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English eahtafeald
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English eightfold

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*oḱtṓwWiktionary, Old English eahta‘eight’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ahtōuWiktionary, Old English eahta‘eight’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ahtōWiktionary, Old English eahta‘eight’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eahtaWiktionary, Old English eahtafeald‘eight’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150eahtafealdWiktionary, English eightfold
  6. EnglishtodayeightfoldWiktionary, English eightfold

Formed from eight + -fold

Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw

Proto-Germanic *ahtōu

Proto-West Germanic *ahtō

Old English eahta

Middle English eighte

English eight

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw ‘eight’

octave, octavo, 18 more

through Old English eahta ‘eight’

aught, 7 more

Today it means

adj Eight times as much; multiplied by eight.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eightfold”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English eahta, Old English eahtafeald. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw / eightfold

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