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specialmente

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word specialmente

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1226, Francis of Assisi
Ultimate origins
Proto-Italic *spekje/o-Latin -ies,-alisItalian -mente
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin specio
Latin species
English species
French épice
French espèce
Italian specie
Latin specialis
English special
French spécial
German speziell
Italian speciale
Italian specialmente
From the same root
Latin conspectus ← specio
Latin introspicio ← specio
Latin specimen ← specio
Latin suspicio ← specio
English specific ← species

Pronunciation

  • /spe.t͡ʃalˈmen.te/[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian speciale + -mente, the adjective “special, particular” with the suffix that forms adverbs.[2][3][4][1] It corresponds in sense to Latin speciāliter.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the old form spetialmente in the Canticle of the Creatures of Francis of Assisi, before 1226: Laudato sie, mi' Signore, cum tucte le tue creature, / spetialmente messor lo frate sole (“Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun”).[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian had many spellings of the word, among them specialemente, spezialmente, spizialmente and Genoese speciarmenti;[6][5] Tommaseo–Bellini marks spezialmente and specialemente as obsolete.[6][5] Brunetto Latini, Dante's Vita nuova and Boccaccio use the word to single out a narrower group from a larger one, which is still its main use.[6][5] The superlative specialissimamente is also recorded.[6]

Timeline

  • Before 1226 – Francis of Assisi uses spetialmente.[2][6]
  • 14th century – Boccaccio uses spezialmente in the Decameron.[5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. especially, particularly, above all: Mi piace il mare, specialmente d'inverno.[2][3][4]

Usage notes

The abbreviation is spec.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
Cite this entry

“Specialmente.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/specialmente. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·