eight-legged

The compound adjective 'eight-legged' is a transparent, descriptive formation native to English. Its first element, 'eight', descends from a stable Proto-Indo-European numeral that has cognates across many language families, including Latin 'octo' and Greek 'oktō'. The second element, 'legged', employs the common English suffix '-ed', used to form adjectives from nouns to indicate possession of a specific feature. The word's logic is purely compositional, directly and literally describing the physical characteristic of possessing eight limbs, most commonly applied in zoology to describe arachnids and some other arthropods.

Structure: eight (number) + legged (having legs) - eight: From Old English 'eahta', from Proto-Germanic 'ahtōu', from Proto-Indo-European 'oḱtṓw'. Functions as a numerical root. - legged: From the noun 'leg' (from Old Norse 'leggr', of uncertain origin) + the adjectival suffix '-ed', meaning "having or provided with".