"eight" in seven languages
Meaningeight
Spanish
ocho
/ˈotʃo/
inherited
French
huit
/ɥit/
inherited
The h is a medieval spelling device to show the word starts with a vowel sound, not v (uit could be read vit).
Italian
otto
/ˈɔtto/
inherited
Portuguese
oito
/ˈojtu/
inherited
Romanian
opt
/opt/
inherited
Romanian -CT- → -pt-: OCTŌ → opt, like NOCTEM → noapte.
Catalan
vuit
/bujt/
inherited
The v- is a later addition (Old Catalan huit, still the Valencian form).
English
eight
/eɪt/
Indo-European kin · PIE *oḱtṓw
English → ItalianeightottoDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: octave, October, octet.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
OCTŌ‘eight’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The CT law in a number: ocho / huit / otto, just like noche / nuit / notte.
English relatives: octave, October, octet