viii

VIII is the Roman numeral for the number eight. In the standard additive notation, it is written as V followed by III, giving 5 + 3 = 8. This differs from subtractive forms such as IV for four or IX for nine. The symbol appears in any context that uses Roman numerals to indicate order, dates, or quantities.

Historically, VIII has been used to distinguish rulers and religious leaders with the same name. Examples include Louis VIII of France, Henry VIII of England, and popes such as John VIII and Benedict VIII. In ordinal dating, VIII marks the eighth year, the eighth volume, or the eighth century in a sequence, such as the eighth century.

In contemporary usage, VIII commonly designates installments or volumes in media and literature, such as Episode VIII in a film series or Symphony No. VIII in music. In science and technology, older nomenclature used Group VIII to denote a set of elements in the periodic table; modern terminology typically refers to Group 8. The numeral also appears on clocks to indicate the time eight o’clock and in various labeling schemes that employ Roman numerals for organization or categorization.