Specially

How to spell specially

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce specially

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does specially mean?

1. adverbFor one particular purpose, or in a deliberately tailored way.

Specially in a sentence

• The wedding cake was specially made to match the venue's colours.

• These chairs were specially designed for people with back problems.

Where does specially come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb is built from the adjective 'special', which English took from Old French 'especial' in the 1200s, itself descended from the Latin 'specialis', meaning 'belonging to a particular kind'. That Latin word grew from 'species', which literally meant 'appearance', 'kind', or 'sort', from the verb 'specere', 'to look at'. Over time 'special' came to mean 'set apart for a particular purpose', and adding the standard '-ly' adverb ending produced 'specially', meaning 'for a particular purpose' or 'in a special way'. The very close cousin 'especially' was formed the same way from the older form 'especial', and because the two adverbs sound and look so alike, writers constantly muddle them; the rule of thumb is that 'specially' signals deliberate purpose while 'especially' signals 'above all'.

How the word is built

• speci- (from Latin species: kind, sort, appearance)
• -al (adjective suffix)
• -ly (adverb suffix)