Where does “eighthman” come from?

eighthman (English) comes from English eighth, from Middle English eightethe, from Old English eahtoþa, from Proto-Germanic ahtudô — eighth.

eighthman (English): One of the forwards at the rear of a scrum formation who controls the ball at the back of the scrum and links to the back line

Definitions

  1. One of the forwards at the rear of a scrum formation who controls the ball at the back of the scrum and links to the back line

Ancestry of “eighthman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglisheighthThe ordinal form of the number eight; The person...
2Middle Englisheightetheeighth
3Old Englisheahtoþaeighth
4Proto-Germanicahtudôeighth
Every word from Proto-Germanic ahtudô →Every word from Old English eahtoþa →Every word from Middle English eightethe →