piece of eight
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of piece of eight
First recorded in 1600–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was a Spanish piece of eight," said Historian Truman, "and it was thrown across the Rappahannock .
From Time Magazine Archive
The men, weary of the voyage, offered a piece of eight "each man" to him who first discovered land.
From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume II (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Thornbury, Walter
The coin most commonly current was the Spanish piece of eight, but the system of weights and measures was the English system, and reckoning was by pounds, shillings, and pence.
From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by Shaw, William Arthur
The most probable is that it is a modification of the figure 8, denoting the famous "piece of eight" of pirate lore, a Spanish silver piece of the value of our dollar.
From Harper's Round Table, September 24, 1895 by Various
He ordered Sancho to take up the helmet, who, holding it in his hand, said, "The basin is a special one, and is well worth a piece of eight, if it is worth a farthing."
From The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
