Etymologically
Log in

speciosus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 19 October 2026 at 04:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [spɛ.kiˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [spe.t͡ʃiˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

speciōsus (feminine speciōsa, neuter speciōsum, comparative speciōsior, superlative speciōsissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from speciēs (“appearance, sight”) with the suffix -ōsus.[2][3][1] ⟨speciēs⟩ belongs to speciō (“to look”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *spekje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-ie/o- (“to look”), cognate with Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati, “sees”), Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look at”) and Old High German spehōn (“to spy”).[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Cicero as its first author,[5] who says that a fine voice makes what an orator says brilliant and striking, in the Brutus.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is attractive in appearance, good-looking or beautiful, as Horace's “I seek to feed tigers while I am beautiful”, and attractive to the mind, as Quintilian's theses, wonderfully appealing for practice in speaking.[2][3][1] It is spectacular, splendid or impressive, as in Cicero, and outwardly impressive or showy, as the rewards in the Bellum Alexandrinum that made the army's love seem showy.[2][1] It is also fine-sounding, plausible or specious, as Livy's men killed secretly where a charge would sound less plausible, and in Cicero's letters public, outward, of the reasons he gives.[2][1]

Lewis and Short find it not frequent until after the Augustan period.[3] Church Latin glosses it “fair, beautiful, comely, handsome, attractive, splendid”.[6] English specious (late 14th century) first meant “pleasing to the sight”.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of brilliant speech and outward reasons.[2][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of beauty.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of plausible charges.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English specious is from it.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Good-looking, beautiful, handsome;[2][3][1][6] attractive, appealing.[2]
  2. Splendid, brilliant, impressive;[2][3][1] showy.[2][1]
  3. Fine-sounding, plausible, specious;[2][1] outward, public.[2]

Word family

  • inspeciōsus
  • speciōsitās

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com