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
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
The name was extended in the form "dollar" to other coins of similar size, notably the old Spanish "piece of eight."
From Anson's Voyage Round the World The Text Reduced by Household, H. W.
"This is a strange company!" exclaimed Luis, laughing, while he slipped a piece of eight into the hand of the sailor; "perhaps that may aid thee in shortening the story of the singular conjunction."
From Mercedes of Castile The Voyage to Cathay by Cooper, J. Fenimore
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.
