Where does “specialism” come from?
Specialism comes from English special with the suffix -ism, from Ancient Greek -ισμός attached to -μός, from Latin specialis meaning "of or pertaining to a particular kind," derived from specio meaning "to see or look at."
specialism (English): Speciality; The concentration of one's efforts...
Definitions
- Speciality; The concentration of one's efforts...
Ancestry of “specialism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | special | Distinguished by a unique or unusual quality; Of... |
| 2 | Middle English | special | — |
| 3 | Old French | especial | special; powerful; mighty |
| 4 | Latin | specialis | specific |
| 5 | Latin | speciēs | seeing, view, look |
| 6 | Latin | speciō | to observe, watch, look at |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | spekjō | to observe, to see |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | spéḱyeti | to be looking at, to keep looking at |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | speḱ- | to see, to look, to observe |