‖prop. n.; etymol. pl., but syntactically sing. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'okta- (for 'oktw` eight) + -pla, as in E. hexapla; cf. Gr. &unr_; eightfold. ] A portion of the Old Testament prepared by Origen in the 3d century, containing the Hebrew text and seven Greek versions of it, arranged in eight parallel columns. [ 1913 Webster ]