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
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A real de plata was one-eighth of a peso or piece of eight.
From The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century by Haring, Clarence Henry
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
After 1537 a handsome silver coin, known as the peso fuerte or "piece of eight" because each contained eight reals, was minted in America.
From The Age of the Reformation by Smith, Preserved
But if we break up the piece of eight links, these eight will join together the remaining eight pieces at a cost of 2s.
From Amusements in Mathematics by Dudeney, Henry Ernest
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.