Etymologically
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specificity

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Pronunciation

  • /spɛsɪˈfɪsɪti/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English specific + -ity,[2][3][4] although Etymonline allows that it may instead be borrowed from French spécificité.[3] The OED compares the French noun, recorded of a medicine's specific action from 1832 and of a thing's specific character from 1836.[2] Specific is from French spécifique and directly specificus (“constituting a kind or sort”),[3][2] from speciēs (“kind, sort”) and -ficus (“making, doing”), from faciō (“to make”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fact of being specific in character; the quality of being clearly defined or precise: 1830, in the North American Medical and Surgical Journal.[2][5] Etymonline dates the word to 1829,[3] Merriam-Webster to 1875[6] and Dictionary.com to 1875–80.[4]

Semantic evolution

Much of the word's history lies in medicine and biology.[2][5] From 1838 it was used of a remedy acting on one particular disease or part of the body;[2][5] from 1889, in biology, of the restriction of a parasite or pathogen to particular hosts;[2] from 1893, in immunology, of the ability of an antibody or antiserum to react with one particular antigen;[2] and since 1905, in biochemistry, of the selective binding of a molecule such as an enzyme to another.[2] Since 1918 medicine has also used it of a diagnostic test's ability to identify correctly the people who do not have a disease.[2] The plural specificities, specific details, is recorded from 1870.[2]

Timeline

  • 1830 – the quality of being specific, precise or clearly defined.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1829.[3]
  • 1838 – of a medicine, the quality of being specific in its effect.[2][5]
  • 1870 – usually in the plural, a specific detail.[2]
  • 1889 – in biology, the restriction of a parasite or pathogen to a particular host.[2][5]
  • 1893 – in immunology, the ability of an antibody to react with a particular antigen.[2][5]
  • 1905 – in biochemistry, the selective binding of one molecule to another.[2]
  • 1918 – in medicine, the ability of a test to identify those who do not have a disease.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The quality of being specific, precise or clearly defined: The plan was praised for the specificity of its targets.[6][2]
  2. Usually in the plural, a specific detail or circumstance.[2]
  3. The quality of being peculiar to, or restricted to, a particular individual or group of organisms, as of a parasite limited to particular hosts.[6][2]
  4. (immunology) The ability of an antibody or antiserum to recognize and react with a particular antigen.[2]
  5. (biochemistry) The ability of an enzyme or other active molecule to bind selectively to another molecule.[2]
  6. (medicine) The ability of a diagnostic or screening test to identify correctly the people who do not have the condition.[2]
  7. The quality of a medicine of acting specifically on one disease or part of the body.[2][5]

Word family

  • nonspecificity

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster