Etymologically
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specialmente

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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