spécification

Forms

spécification f (plural spécifications)^[1] Middle French speciffication (1341), specifficacion (1446).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin specificātiō (“act of specifying, of assigning to a species”), recorded in 1277,^[2][4][5] from the supine of specificō (“to specify”).^[2][6][4] The GLLF treats it as a learned derivative of spécifier.^[7] It is related to spécifique and spécial.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of 1341 in the Archives nationales, cited by Godefroy, speaks of the speciffication des exces, the detailed statement of offences.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

Taken from the start for the act of setting something out in detail, the word kept that sense in law and administration.^[4][3] Under the influence of Latin speciēs (“appearance”), Middle French also used it once for a vision (1375) and for outward appearance (1440–1475).^[4]

In 1685 it entered legal language for the making of a new thing from material belonging to another person.^[2][4] It named the exact description in a patent of invention from 1790, the distinction of the species of a genus in logic from 1907.^[2] From 1949 it named the detailed list of the characteristics required of an aircraft or engine, from which came its general use for the characteristics of a product set in its contract.^[2][4][5]

Timeline

• 1341 – Speciffication “detailed determination” in a document of the Archives nationales.^[2][8]
• 1375 – The spelling spécification is recorded.^[4]
• 1685 – Courtin uses it in law for making a new thing from another's material.^[2]
• 1790 – Used for the exact description in a patent.^[2][4]
• 1907 – Hamelin uses it in logic for the distinction of species.^[2]
• 1949 – The Nouveau Larousse universel records the list of characteristics required of an aircraft or engine.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (formal) The act of specifying, of stating something precisely: sans spécification de date.^[5][9]
2. The definition of a thing's characteristics, especially the characteristics a product must have under its contract or specifications sheet.^[5][2]
3. (law) The making of a new thing by working movable material that belongs to someone else.^[5][7]
4. (logic) The operation of distinguishing the species of one genus.^[7][2]

Related words

• spécifier
• spécifique
• spécial
• espèce
• Medieval Latin specificātiō

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 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 Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette