specify English · revision 39794

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a1393, J. Gower, Confessio Amantis|origins=la specificus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈspɛs.ɪ.faɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈspɛs.əˌfaɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|specefier]], beside [[frm|specifier|t=to mention or name explicitly]], recorded in French from 1290 (and about 1260 in the form [[m|fro|especifier]]),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AND) and partly a direct borrowing of its Latin source, [[la-lat|specificō|t=to mention particularly, distinguish]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010) The Latin verb was formed on [[m|la|specificus|t=specific]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024) which Skeat analyses as [[m|la|speciēs|t=kind]] with an element from [[m|la|faciō|t=to make]].^(Skeat 1911) The OED notes that the Latin verb first meant "to cause or recognize as distinct", translating a Greek term, and is recorded with the sense "to state explicitly or in detail" from the 12th century.^(OED 2026) It belongs to the family of [[specific]] and [[species]].^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To speak or give an account of a matter in detail, with ''of'': a1393, in John Gower's ''Confessio Amantis''; this intransitive use is obsolete.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) In the same poem Gower also used it transitively, to name something explicitly.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the intransitive sense "to speak, make plain" to the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) Dictionary.com dates the verb to 1250–1300,^(Dictionary.com 2016) and Collins to the 13th century.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The central meaning, to name or state something definitely and explicitly, has been in use since Gower,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and Etymonline dates it to the mid 14th century.^(Etymonline) Several narrower senses came and went: to make special mention of someone in preaching (?c1450–1525), to show a quality to advantage (?c1550–70), to call by a specific name (1652) and, in John Evelyn's ''Sylva'' (1664), to develop into different species.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) The sense "to give something a specific character" (1645) is now rare.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined the verb as to mention, or to show by particular marks of distinction.^(Johnson 1755) The modern technical sense, to set out a requirement in the specifications for a piece of work or a product, is recorded from 1841, in an architectural book.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1393 – to give an account in detail, and to name explicitly, in Gower's ''Confessio Amantis''.^(OED 2026)

+ * c1425 – past participle with ''above'', ''below'' and the like, in Lydgate.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1645 – to give something a specific character (now rare).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1664 – to develop into different species (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1841 – to include a requirement in a specification.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To name or state something clearly and in [[detail]]: ''The letter did not specify a date for the meeting.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To set something down as a [[condition]] or requirement: ''The contract specifies that payment is due within a month.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To include something as an item in a [[specification]]: ''The architect specified stone floors for the hall.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[specifier]]

+ * [[specifiable]]

+ * [[prespecify]]

+ * [[respecify]]

+ * [[underspecify]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[specific]]

+ * [[specification]]

+ * [[species]]

+ * [[special]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}