восемь (Russian)
Where does "восемь" come from?
The Russian word for eight, 'восемь', traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *oḱtṓw. This ancestral form traveled through Proto-Balto-Slavic and Proto-Slavic before evolving into the Old East Slavic 'осмь'. Over time, this ancient count has remained remarkably consistent across languages for thousands of years.
Full etymology tree
- восемь (Russian), 'eight (8)'
- inherited осмь (Old East Slavic), 'eight (8)'
- inherited *osmь (Proto-Slavic), 'eight'
- inherited *aśtṓni (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- inherited *oḱtṓw (Proto-Indo-European), 'eight'
- derived *(H)oḱto- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *oḱtṓw (Proto-Indo-European), 'eight'
- inherited *aśtṓni (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- inherited *osmь (Proto-Slavic), 'eight'
- inherited осмь (Old East Slavic), 'eight (8)'
Ancestors
- осмь (Old East Slavic)
- *osmь (Proto-Slavic)
- *aśtṓ (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- *oḱtṓw (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- восьмёрка (Russian)
- восьмушка (Russian)
Updated July 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris