Specialty

How to spell specialty

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce specialty

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does specialty mean?

1. nounA particular activity, product, or field in which a person or place excels or focuses.

Specialty in a sentence

• Reconstructive surgery is her main medical specialty.

• The bakery's specialty is a dense rye sourdough.

Where does specialty come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin specialis, meaning 'individual' or 'belonging to a particular kind', which itself grew from species, 'a sort or kind'. It entered English in the 1300s through Old French especialte, originally describing a special quality, a particular relationship, or a special legal contract under seal. Over time the meaning narrowed to the thing a person or place does especially well, whether a craftsman's signature work or a cook's famous dish. The shorter American and Canadian form 'specialty' simply collapses the older 'speciality', dropping the extra '-i-' syllable, which is exactly where writers familiar with both forms stumble. The same specialis root sits inside 'special' and 'especially', a handy reminder that the core spelling is 'special' with '-ty' added.

How the word is built

• special (from Latin specialis: individual, particular)
• -ty (noun-forming suffix)