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Origin and history of specify

specify(v.)

early 14c., specifien, "to speak, make plain, say" (intransitive); mid-14c., transitive, "to name (someone or something) explicitly," from Old French specifier, especefier (13c.) and directly from Late Latin specificare "mention particularly," from specificus (see specific). Related: Specified; specifying.

Alternative verb specificate (1610s) is perhaps a back-formation from specification, as specificize (1885) is likely from specific.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to specify

specific(adj.)

1630s, "having a special quality," from French spécifique and directly from Late Latin specificus "constituting a kind or sort" (in Medieval Latin "specific, particular"), from Latin species "kind, sort" (see species) + -ficus "making, doing," from combining form of facere "to make."

The earlier form was specifical (early 15c., specificalle, "narrow, specific"). The meaning "precise, regarding a definite subject, in accord with what is determined" is recorded by 1740. Related: Specifically; specificness; specificalness.

specifiable(adj.)

"able to be named explicitly," 1660s (Boyle); see specify + -able. Related: Specifiably; specifiability.

unspecified(adj.)

"not specified" in any sense, 1620s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of specify (v.).

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    define
    late 14c., deffinen, diffinen, "to specify; to fix or establish authoritatively;" of words, phrases, etc., "state the signification of, explain what is meant by, describe in detail," from Old French defenir, definir "to finish, conclude, come to an end; bring to an end; define, d
    delineate
    1550s, "to mark out in lines," from Latin delineatus, past participle of delineare "to sketch out," from de- "completely" (see de-) + lineare "draw lines," from linea "line" (see line (n.)). From c. 1600 as "represent pictorially;" 1610s as "describe, represent to the mind or und
    set
    Middle English setten, from Old English settan (transitive) "cause to sit; make or cause to rest as on a seat; cause to be put, placed, or seated;" also "put in a definite place," also "arrange, fix adjust; fix or appoint (a time) for some affair or transaction," and "cause (thou
    plan
    1670s as a technical term in perspective drawing; more generally by 1706 as "the representation of anything drawn on a plane; a drawing, sketch, or diagram of any object," from French plan "ground plot of a building, map," literally "plane surface" (mid-16c.), from Latin planum "
    terse
    1590s (implied in tersely), "clean-cut, burnished, neat," from French ters "clean," and directly from Latin tersus "wiped off, clean, neat," from past participle of tergere "to rub, polish, wipe," which is of uncertain origin. Sense of "concise or pithy in style or language" is f
    steer
    "guide the course of a vehicle," originally a ship or boat, by means of a rudder or helm, Middle English stēren, from Old English steoran, steran (Mercian), stieran, styran (West Saxon) "to steer, guide, direct; govern, rule; restrain, correct, punish," from Proto-Germanic *steur
    ester
    compound formed by an acid joined to an alcohol, 1852, coined in German in 1848 by German chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), professor at Heidelberg. The name is "apparently a pure invention" [Flood], perhaps a contraction of or abstraction from Essigäther, the German name for e
    reset
    also re-set, 1650s, "place or replace (a gem) in a setting," from re- "back, again" + set (v.). Related: Resetting. Meaning "cause a device to return to a former condition" is from 1847; the intransitive sense of "return to an initial state" is from 1897. Of broken limbs, by 1884
    name
    "word by which a person or thing is denoted," Old English nama, noma "name, reputation," from Proto-Germanic *naman- (source also of Old Saxon namo, Old Frisian nama, Old High German namo, German Name, Middle Dutch name, Dutch naam, Old Norse nafn, Gothic namo "name"), from PIE r
    mane
    "growth of long hair on the back of the neck and shoulders," characteristic of the horse, lion, and some other animals, Old English manu "mane of a horse," from Proto-Germanic *mano (source also of Old Norse mön, Old Frisian mana, Middle Dutch mane, Dutch manen, Old High German m

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    Dictionary entries near specify
    • speciesism
    • specifiable
    • specific
    • specification
    • specificity
    • specify
    • specimen
    • specious
    • speck
    • speckle
    • specs
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