spécialiste

Forms

spécialiste m or f by sense (plural spécialistes)^[1]

Etymology

It is from French spécial + -iste.^[2][3][4] The adjective is a learned word from Latin speciālis (“relating to a species, particular”).^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Balzac's Louis Lambert (1832) uses spécialiste as a noun for one who has intuitive knowledge, a seer, the highest of his three degrees of man.^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, a person who specialises in one branch of study, was recorded in 1842 by the Académie's supplement, as noun and adjective.^[2][5] A doctor devoted to one branch of medicine, opposed to the généraliste, is recorded from 1855 (Littré–Robin), or from 1872 according to Rey.^[2][5] Littré still calls the word a neologism.^[6] Figuratively and familiarly, spécialiste de is said from 1920 of someone who habitually does or suffers something.^[5][7] English specialist (1843), first in the medical sense, may have come from the French word.^[8]

Timeline

• 1832 – Balzac uses it for a seer in Louis Lambert.^[2]
• 1842 – The Académie's supplement records the sense “specialist”.^[2]
• 1843 – English specialist, perhaps from French.^[8]
• 1855 – Medical specialist, in Littré–Robin.^[2]
• 1920 – Duhamel's familiar figurative use.^[7]
• early 20th century – First feminine uses.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person with thorough knowledge of a narrow field, an expert: un spécialiste de l'art roman.^[9][10]
2. A doctor who specialises in one branch of medicine, as opposed to a general practitioner: elle a pris rendez-vous chez un spécialiste.^[9][10]
3. (familiar) A person who habitually does or suffers something: un spécialiste des retards.^[9][10]

Adjective

1. Having thorough knowledge of a particular branch: médecin spécialiste.^[2]

Word family

• spécialisme

Related words

• spécial
• spécialité
• spécialiser
• généraliste
• English specialist

Usage notes

The noun was masculine at first; the feminine is used from the early 20th century.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)