Where does “specific” come from?
Specific comes from Old French specifique, from Late Latin specificus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European speḱ-, meaning to observe or perceive.
specific (English): explicit or definite; pertaining to a species;...
Definitions
- explicit or definite; pertaining to a species;...
Ancestry of “specific”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | specifique | — |
| 2 | Latin | specificus | specific, particular |
| 3 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 4 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 5 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 6 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |