Etymograph

English

eightsome

Eightsome comes from Middle English eighte ‘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. 450–1150eahta1‘eight’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eighte1‘eight’
  6. English1500–presenteight1
  7. Englishtodayeightsome1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English eightsome

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*oḱtṓwWiktionary, English eightsome‘eight’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ahtōuWiktionary, English eightsome‘eight’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ahtōWiktionary, English eightsome‘eight’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eahtaWiktionary, English eightsome‘eight’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eighteWiktionary, English eightsome‘eight’
  6. English1500–presenteightWiktionary, English eightsome
  7. EnglishtodayeightsomeWiktionary, English eightsome

A compound of eight + -some

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, 17 more

through Old English eahta ‘eight’

aught, eightfold, 6 more

Today it means

noun A group of eight persons or things.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eightsome”. 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 / eightsome

Shirt and support for this word