Acht

See also: acht, ächt, åcht, and -acht

Dutch

Etymology

First attested as achte in 1307. Derived from Middle Dutch achte (“preserve, lordly possession, legal district”). Compare Achterveld, Achtmaal and Echt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑxt/
• Hyphenation: Acht
• Rhymes: -ɑxt
• Homophone: acht

Proper noun

Acht n

1. A village in Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands.

Derived terms

• Achtenaar
• Achts
• Achtse Barrier
• Achtse Molen
• Nieuw Acht

References

• van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /axt/, [ʔäχt]

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

Substantivation of the numeral acht (“eight”), from Old High German ahtô.

Noun

Acht f (genitive Acht, plural Achten)

1. the natural number eight
2. the numeral sign 8
3. a playing card with the value eight
4. a figure eight shape; a bicycle wheel bent out of shape

Declension

Declension of Acht [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Acht	die	Achten
genitive	einer	der	Acht	der	Achten
dative	einer	der	Acht	den	Achten
accusative	eine	die	Acht	die	Achten

Etymology 2

From Middle High German ahte, from Old High German ahta, from Proto-West Germanic *ahtu (“attention”).

Noun

Acht f (genitive Acht, no plural)

1. (in idioms and derivatives, otherwise archaic) attention; regard; heed

   Synonyms: Aufmerksamkeit, Achtung, Beachtung

Declension

Declension of Acht [sg-only, feminine]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Acht
genitive	einer	der	Acht
dative	einer	der	Acht
accusative	eine	die	Acht

Derived terms

• achten
• achtgeben (Acht geben)
• achthaben (Acht haben)
• achtlos
• achtsam (in part through achten)
• außer Acht bleiben
• außer Acht lassen
• in Acht nehmen

Etymology 3

From Middle High German āhte, from Old High German āhta, from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄htu (“persecution”). Cognate with Old English ōht (“persecution, enmity”).

Noun

Acht f (genitive Acht, no plural)

1. (historical) outlawry; banishment (declaration that someone is no longer protected by law)
2. (poetic) sworn enmity; declaration of vendetta
   • 1812, Ernst Moritz Arndt, Vaterlandslied (Der Gott, der Eisen wachsen ließ):

     Dem Buben und dem Knecht die Acht,
     der füttre Krähn und Raben.
     So ziehn wir aus zur Hermannsschlacht
     und wollen Rache haben.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Acht [sg-only, feminine]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Acht
genitive	einer	der	Acht
dative	einer	der	Acht
accusative	eine	die	Acht

Derived terms

• ächten
• Reichsacht (“imperial ban”)

See also

• Bann

Etymology 4

From Middle High German *ahte (attested in Latinised forms like ahta, athta). Probably the same as etymology 3, referring historically to an area around a mansion, monastery, etc., in which the lord of that estate exerted certain rights otherwise exerted by the state or king; compare this sense in Bann (also Bannbezirk, Bannmeile). Alternatively pertaining to etymology 2 as “that which is subject to someone's care”. Semantically, it could also be a variant of Old High German ēht (“property, especially ecclesiastical”), from Proto-West Germanic *aihti, but the vocalism makes this unlikely.

Noun

Acht f (genitive Acht, plural Achten)

1. (obsolete, found in western German toponyms) land belonging to a mansion or monastery
   • 1532, anonymous, Weisthum zu Trittenheim (view online)

     […] und das freie hohe gericht sol stahn uf unsers gned. hern von Manderscheidt grundt eigenem gute, da weisen wir unserm gned. hern v. Mand. ein freie acht, do daß hochgericht ufstehet, binnen der freier achten weisen wir der gemeinen von Keferich einen morgen landtz uf dem berge […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Acht [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Acht	die	Achten
genitive	einer	der	Acht	der	Achten
dative	einer	der	Acht	den	Achten
accusative	eine	die	Acht	die	Achten

Further reading

• “Acht, Zahl, Ziffer” in Duden online
• “Acht, Aufmerksamkeit, Fürsorge” in Duden online
• “Acht, Bann, Ächtung” in Duden online
• “Acht” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Acht” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Acht” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Plautdietsch

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *ahtu. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

Acht f

1. respect, esteem
2. attention