Octostyle

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A design in architecture that features eight vertical supports arranged symmetrically
2. An architectural style notable for its façade composed of eight evenly spaced columns
3. A type of architectural configuration characterized by the presence of eight supports that are evenly distributed to create balance

Etymology: Octostyle is a plain technical coinage, built in English from two Greek-derived parts: "octo-", from Greek "oktō" meaning "eight", and "-style", from Greek "stylos" meaning "column" or "pillar". Together they describe a building front with eight columns, a term used of temple façades. The "octo-" element is a close relative of Latin "octō", which is why the same number turns up across English words like octagon and October's old sense of "eighth month." Because the word is a modern compound rather than an ancient term, the Greeks themselves would not have used it. Architects reached for these classical building blocks when they needed precise vocabulary for describing columned fronts, and the "-style" element appears in similar terms such as tetrastyle (four columns) and hexastyle (six columns), which follow the same pattern.