Octo

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A prefix derived from Latin meaning the number eight, used to denote eight units or parts in various contexts such as geometry, biology, or time
2. Signifying the quantity eight as a root in compound words and terms across different fields to indicate octagonal shapes, groups, or counts of eight
3. Indicating a set or group of eight, commonly appearing as a combining form to describe objects, animals, or concepts associated with the number eight

Etymology: Octo is a clipping of "octopus," a word borrowed into English from Modern Latin, which took it from ancient Greek "oktopous," meaning "eight-footed." The first half of that Greek compound is "okto," "eight," the same root that gives English "octave," "October" (originally the eighth month of the Roman calendar), and "octagon." The second half, "pous," means "foot," as in "podium" and "tripod." In English, "octo" is used as a combining form, so it appears as the first element of words meaning eight, such as "octopus" itself and "octagon," and it can also be clipped into a standalone word. Its use as an adjective or noun is a shortened form of the longer word it comes from, so the sense "having eight parts" follows directly from the Greek "eight-footed."

Synonyms: eight, octagonal, octet, octuple, octagon