The spelling of the word "eighth" can be tricky because it contains a silent "gh" in the middle. The IPA phonetic transcription for "eighth" is /eɪtθ/. The first sound, /eɪ/, represents the long "a" diphthong, which is pronounced like "eh" and "ee" smushed together. The second sound, /t/, is the simple "t" consonant sound. The final sound, /θ/, is the voiceless dental fricative, which is pronounced by placing your tongue between your teeth and blowing air out to create a hissing sound.
Eighth is commonly used as both an ordinal and a fraction in the English language. As an ordinal numeral, eighth represents the position or rank in a series that comes after the seventh and before the ninth. It is denoted by the numeral "8th" or the word "eighth." For instance, in a race, where several participants are placed in order, the individual who finishes in the eighth position is referred to as the eighth-place finisher.
As a fraction, eighth represents one part out of eight equal parts, demonstrating a division or a ratio. In this context, it is expressed as the number "1" in the numerator and the number "8" in the denominator, resulting in the fraction 1/8. For example, if a pie is equally divided into eight slices, each slice represents an eighth of the whole pie.
Additionally, eighth can also refer to an object or element that is one in a sequence of eight, or it may indicate that something occurs or is measured in an eighth part, such as an eighth note in music, which represents one-eighth of the value of a whole note.
In summary, eighth serves as the ordinal numeral for the number eight in a series and represents one part out of an equal division of eight. Whether indicating a position, fraction, or a portion, the term eighth is fundamental in organizing and quantifying various contexts in language, mathematics, and other disciplines.
• Next after seventh.
• A musical interval of five tones and two semitones.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "eighth" has its origin in the Old English term "eahtoða", which evolved from the Proto-Germanic word "ahtudô", meaning "eighth". This Proto-Germanic term further comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*oktō", which meant "eight". This root is shared by various other Indo-European languages, such as Latin "octō" and Greek "oktṓ". Over time, "eahtoða" was modified into "eighth" in Middle English and has remained so in the English language ever since.