Etymologically
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spécial

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /spe.sjal/[1]

Forms

spécial (feminine spéciale, masculine plural spéciaux, feminine plural spéciales)[1] Old French especiel (about 1130), especial (1150), still sometimes heard in popular speech, spécial from about 1190.[2][3][4] The Académie wrote special in 1694 and 1718, spécial from 1740.[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin speciālis (“special, particular; relating to a species”), opposed to generālis (see général),[5][2][6][3][7][1] derived from speciēs (“sight; appearance; kind, species”) (see espèce), which in philosophy rendered Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos).[2][4] The Latin noun comes from the archaic verb speciō (“to look”).[4]

Compare Old Occitan especial, Spanish especial and Italian speziale.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Eneas (about 1160) has especïel “particular to a species, as opposed to general”, and the Roman de Troie (about 1165) special “having specific properties”.[5]

Semantic evolution

With the sense “particular”, it was applied until the 16th century to a close friendship (1339), a person remarkable for wisdom (1359), a devoted person (about 1430) and a rare thing (1501); Commynes writes of le plus especial amy qu'il eust.[2][8] Par especial “in particular” (1309) lasted into the 17th century.[2][6]

The idea of particularity was taken up in the 19th century in many fields: pouvoir spécial (Sieyès, 1789), école spéciale (1812), mathématiques spéciales (1872), fonds spéciaux “secret funds” (1876), armes spéciales (1876, now nuclear, chemical and biological weapons).[5][2][4] The sense “out of the ordinary, peculiar”, often pejorative, is dated to Flaubert (1857).[4] Its derivatives are spécialiser (1823), spécialisation (1830) and spécialiste (1832).[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1160 – Especïel, Eneas.[5]
  • c. 1190 – The form spécial.[2]
  • 1309 – Par especial.[2]
  • 1789 – Pouvoir spécial, Sieyès.[5]
  • 1832 – spécialiste.[6]
  • 1857 – “Peculiar”, Flaubert.[4]
  • 1872 – Mathématiques spéciales.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. special, particular to a kind of thing, as opposed to general: des connaissances spéciales, mathématiques spéciales, the advanced class preparing for the grandes écoles.[9][2]
  2. Peculiar to a person or group; set aside for a particular use: train spécial.[9]
  3. For a particular occasion or task: édition spéciale, envoyé spécial, special correspondent.[9]
  4. (often pejorative) Out of the ordinary, peculiar: des goûts un peu spéciaux.[4]
  5. Fonds spéciaux: secret funds.[2][4]

Word family

  • spécialement
  • spécialiser
  • spécialisation
  • spécialiste
  • spécialité
  • espèce
  • spécifique
  • spécieux

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 152b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert