Where does “special” come from?

Special comes from Middle English special, from Old French especial, from Latin specialis, an adjective formed from specio meaning to see or look at.

special (English): Distinguished by a unique or unusual quality; Of...

Definitions

  1. Distinguished by a unique or unusual quality; Of...

Ancestry of “special”, step by step

special traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English special

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishspecial—
2Old Frenchespecialspecial; powerful; mighty
3Latinspecialisspecific
4Latinspeciēsseeing, view, look
5Latinspeciōto observe, watch, look at
6Proto-Italicspekjōto observe, to see
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
8Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

via Middle French spécialité

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchspécialité—
2Old Frenchspecialte—
3Latinspecialitas—

Words derived from “special”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European spéḱyeti →Every word from Proto-Italic spekjō →