piece of eight

American  

noun

1. peso.

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piece of eight British  

noun

1. a former Spanish coin worth eight reals; peso

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Etymology

Origin of piece of eight

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

piece of eight

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 Walter Thornbury

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 Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Sir Isaac Newton's assay and representation to the Lords of the Treasury, in 1717, of those which he examined, make their values as follows: The Seville piece of eight .

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 1 by Thomas Jefferson Randolph