The Etymology and Numerical Significance of 8 Quiz

Number 8

• 8 is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
• The English word "eight" comes from Old English "eahta" or "æhta", which is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European "*oḱtṓ(w)-".

Etymology of 8

• The Proto-Indo-European "*oḱtṓ(w)-" is cognate with Greek "ὀκτώ" and Latin "octo-", which are reflected in the English prefix "oct(o)-".
• The prefix "oct(o)-" is used in words like "octaval" or "octavary", and the adjective "octuple" (from Latin "octu-plus").
• "Octuple" can be used as a noun to refer to a set of eight items.
• The diminutive form "octuplet" is primarily used to describe eight siblings born in one birth.

Numeral Roots

• The Semitic numeral is based on the root "*θmn-", which is seen in Akkadian "smn-", Arabic "ṯmn-", and Hebrew "šmn-".
• The Chinese numeral "八" (Mandarin: "bā"; Cantonese: "baat") comes from Old Chinese "*priāt-", which is derived from Sino-Tibetan "b-r-gyat" or "b-g-ryat", also yielding Tibetan "brgyat".

Cognitive Limitation

• It has been argued that 7 is the highest number of items that can be universally cognitively processed.