eighth-inning

The compound adjective "eighth-inning" is a modern American English formation specific to baseball terminology. Its first element, "eighth," traces back to the Proto-Germanic ahtoþô, derived from the cardinal number ahtōu (eight), with the ordinal suffix -þô evolving into Modern English "-th." The second element, "inning," originates from the Old English verb 'innian,' meaning "to get or put in," reflecting the game's structure where teams alternate turns "coming in" to bat. The specific application to baseball, formalized in the 18th century, combined with numerical ordinals to create precise descriptors for game phases. Thus, the term literally denotes the phase or events belonging to the eighth turn of play in a baseball game.

Structure: eighth (ordinal number) + inning (division of a game) - eighth: From Old English 'eahtoþa', related to 'eahta' (eight). A Germanic ordinal number suffix '-th' added to the cardinal number. - inning: From Old English 'innung' (a getting in, putting in), from 'innian' (to get in, put in). The modern baseball sense developed in the 18th century from the concept of a team's turn "getting in" to bat or play defense.