Where does “special” come from?

special (Old French) comes from Latin specialis, from Latin speciēs, from Latin speciō, from Proto-Italic spekjō, from Proto-Indo-European spéḱyeti, from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- — to see, to look, to observe.

Ancestry of “special”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinspecialisspecific
2Latinspeciēsseeing, view, look
3Latinspeciōto observe, watch, look at
4Proto-Italicspekjōto observe, to see
5Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
6Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “special”

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