specific

English

Alternative forms

• specifick

Etymology

From Old French specifique, from Late Latin specificus (“specific, particular”), from Latin speciēs (“kind”) + faciō (“make”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /spəˈsɪf.ɪk/, /spɪˈsɪf.ɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪfɪk

Adjective

specific (comparative more specific, superlative most specific)

1. explicit or definite
2. (sciences) Pertaining to a species.
   • 2008, Richard Dawkins, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, Oxford 2009, p. 3:

     Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.

3. (taxonomy) pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species
4. special, distinctive or unique
5. intended for, or applying to a particular thing
6. being a remedy for a particular disease

   Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.

   • Coleridge

     In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science.

7. (immunology) limited to a particular antibody or antigen
8. (physics) of a value divided by mass (e.g. specific orbital energy)
9. (physics) similarly referring to a value divided by any measure which acts to standardize it (e.g. thrust specific fuel consumption, referring to fuel consumption divided by thrust)
10. (physics) a measure compared with a standard reference value by division, to produce a ratio without unit or dimension (e.g. specific refractive index is a pure number, and is relative to that of air)

Antonyms

• all-purpose
• broad
• general
• general-purpose
• generic
• gross
• nonspecific
• overall
• pandemic
• universal
• unspecific
• widespread

Derived terms

Derived terms

conspecific gender-specific infraspecific interspecific intraspecific nonspecific prostate-specific antigen species-specific specific charge

specific energy specific epithet specific fuel consumption specificker specific name specific power specific gravity specific heat specific impulse specific performance specific resistance specific thrust specificity

Translations

explicit or definite

• Catalan: específic m
• Czech: konkrétní (cs)
• Esperanto: specifa
• Estonian: kindel (et)
• Finnish: erityinen (fi)

• Greek: συγκεκριμένος (el) (sygkekriménos)
• Romanian: specific (ro)
• Russian: явный (ru) (jávnyj) (obvious, explicit), конкретный (ru) (konkrétnyj) (concrete), специфический (ru) (specifíčeskij)
• Sinhalese: නිශ්චිත (niścita)
• Spanish: específico
• Welsh: penodol (cy)

of, or relating to a species

• Finnish: laji- (fi), lajityyppinen

• Russian: видовой (ru) (vidovój)

pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species

• Finnish: laji- (fi)

special, distinctive or unique

• Czech: specifický
• Estonian: eriline (et)

• Finnish: erityinen (fi)
• Greek: ειδικός (el) (eidikós)
• Russian: особенный (ru) (osóbennyj), особый (ru) (osóbyj), конкретный (ru) (konkrétnyj)

intended for, or applying to a particular thing

• Czech: specifický
• Estonian: omane

• Finnish: erityinen (fi), erikois- (fi)
• Greek: ειδικός (el) (eidikós), εξειδικευμένος (el) (exeidikevménos)
• Russian: специальный (ru) (speciálʹnyj)

being a remedy for a particular disease

• Finnish: spesifinen

• Spanish: específico

being limited to a particular antibody or antigen

• Finnish: spesifinen

of a value divided by the mass

• Czech: specifický
• Estonian: eri-

• Finnish: ominais- (fi)
• Georgian: კუთრი (kut’ri)
• Russian: специфический (ru) (specifíčeskij)

of a measure compared to a standard reference

• Czech: relativní

• Finnish: ominais- (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: معين (moʕáyan)
• Catalan: específic
• Mandarin: 特定的 (zh) (tèdìng de)
• Dutch: specifiek (nl)
• French: spécifique (fr)
• Galician: específico m
• German: spezifisch (de)

• Hungarian: sajátos (hu), meghatározott (hu)
• Irish: sonrach
• Italian: specifico (it)
• Japanese: 特殊 (ja) (とくしゅ, tokushu)
• Korean: 특정한 (teukjeonghan)
• Portuguese: específico (pt)
• Swedish: specifik (sv)

See also

• generic

Noun

specific (plural specifics)

1. A distinguishing attribute or quality.
2. Something particularly adapted for a particular use, as a remedy for a particular disorder
3. Specification
4. (in the plural) The details; particulars.

Derived terms

• specificker

External links

• specific in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• specific in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• specific at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Romanian

Etymology

French spécifique

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [speˈt͡ʃi.fik]

Adjective

specific ^{4 nom/acc forms}

1. specific

Declension

declension of specific

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	specific		specifică	specifici	specifice
	definite	specificul		specifica	specificii	specificele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	specific		specifice	specifici	specifice
	definite	specificului		specificei	specificilor	specificelor

Antonyms

• nespecific