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 piece of eight was divided into eight silver reals.
From Anson's Voyage Round the World The Text Reduced by Household, H. W.
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
But there circulated, usually by weight, various foreign coins, the most common of which was the Spanish piece of eight, about equal in value to five shillings in English money.
From Virginia under the Stuarts 1607-1688 by Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson
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.
