Etymologically
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specificus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [spɛˈkɪ.fɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [speˈt͡ʃiː.fi.kus][1]

Forms

specificus (feminine specifica, neuter specificum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin speciēs (“kind, sort”) + -ficus (“making”), “making a kind”.[1][2][3] It is the source of French spécifique and Italian specifico,[1][4] and partly through French of English specific.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boethius uses it in his commentary on Porphyry, in the sense “of the species”.[4]

Semantic evolution

In scholastic philosophy it described what makes a thing a distinct species, as in differentia specifica, “the specific difference”;[5][6] Thomas Aquinas uses it as a synonym of speciālis.[5][6] British writers from Grosseteste and Roger Bacon to Ockham use it for what constitutes a species, and also for what belongs to a particular individual.[6] Etymonline glosses the Late Latin word “constituting a kind or sort” and the Medieval Latin one “specific, particular”.[2]

Timeline

  • 870 – Latham records it in British sources.[3]
  • c. 1238 – Robert Grosseteste uses it in a letter.[6]
  • first half of the 14th century – Ockham writes of its definition.[6][3]
  • 1630s – English specific appears, from French and Late Latin.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Late Latin, philosophy) Of or constituting a species: differentia specifica, the specific difference.[4][5][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) specific, particular; belonging to a particular individual.[6][7][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson