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Section Eight 1
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n.
1. A US Army discharge based on military assessment of psychological unfitness or character traits deemed undesirable.
2. Slang A soldier given such a discharge or behaving as if deserving such a discharge.

[After Section VIII of World War II US Army Regulation 615-360, which provided for the discharge of those deemed unfit for military service.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Section Eight 2
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n.
A federally funded program in the United States that subsidizes the rent of low-income tenants.

[After Section VIII of the United States Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which authorized it.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.