Dictionary

specialty en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /spɛˈʃæl.ʈi/ (South-Asia)
• /ˈspɛʃ.əl.ti/ (General-American)
• /ˈspɛʃ.əl.ʈi/ (South-Asia)

Etymology

From Middle English specialte, Old French specialte, especialte, from Latin specialitas.

Meanings

1. (Australia, Canada, US) That in which one specializes; a chosen expertise or talent; bailiwick.
   • academic specialty
   • medical specialty
   • They cook well overall, but their true specialty is pasta.
   • Even men of boundless knowledge, like Humboldt, must have had once their speciality, their pet subject, or they would have, strictly speaking, no knowledge at all. 1858, Charles Kingsley, “My Winter-Garden”, in Fraser’s Magazine, volume 57, page 410:
   • The doctor ordered a consultation with another doctor in a different specialty.
   • Near-synonym: discipline
2. (Australia, Canada, US) A product that originates in and is characteristic of a place.
   • regional specialty
   • house specialty
3. (Australia, Canada, US, obsolete) Particularity.
   • The specialty of rule hath been neglected: And, look, how many Grecian tents do stand Hollow upon this plain, so many hollow factions. c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
4. (Australia, Canada, US) A particular or peculiar case.
5. (Australia, Canada, US) An attribute or quality peculiar to a species.
6. (Australia, Canada, US) A contract or obligation under seal; a contract by deed; a writing, under seal, given as security for a debt particularly specified.
   • 1812, Joseph Chitty, A Treatise on Pleading, with a Collection of Practical Precedents, and Notes Thereon, 2nd American edition, edited by Thomas Day, New York, Volume 2, section 456, note c, […] in a plea to an action of debt on specialty, it is still necessary to show that the debt on which the judgment was recovered was a specialty, or to aver that the judgment was recovered before the defendant had notice of the plaintiff’s demand.
   • Let specialties be therefore drawne betweene vs, That couenants may be kept on either hand. c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

Forms

Deriveds

nonspecialty · specialty coffee · cross-specialty · interspecialty · sub-specialty · multi-specialty · specialty crop · specialty shop · multispecialty · specialty store

Relateds

subspecialist · specialist · subspecialty

Synonyms

department · specialism

Translations (60)

cmn 專長 /专长 (that in which one specializes) · bg специа́лност (that in which one specializes) · ar تَخَصُّص (that in which one specializes) · vi đặc sản (product that is characteristic of a place) · cmn 擅長 /擅长 (that in which one specializes) · uk спеціа́льність (that in which one specializes) · ja 専門 (that in which one specializes) · el ειδικότητα (that in which one specializes) · fr spécialité (product that is characteristic of a place) · fa تخصص (that in which one specializes) · pl specialty (legal: contract or obligation under seal) · bg особен случай (particular or peculiar case) · ca especialitat (that in which one specializes) · ko 특산물 (that in which one specializes) · nl terrein (that in which one specializes) · pl specjalizacja (that in which one specializes) · cs specialita (that in which one specializes) · fr spécialité (that in which one specializes) · fi erikoisala (that in which one specializes) · pl szczególny przypadek (particular or peculiar case) · de Arteigenschaft (attribute or quality peculiar to a species) · sv specialité (that in which one specializes) · pl specjał (product that is characteristic of a place) · tl katangian (particular or peculiar case) · mk осо́беност (attribute or quality peculiar to a species) · az ixtisas (that in which one specializes) · sv specialitet (product that is characteristic of a place) · de Spezialität (product that is characteristic of a place) · fi erityispiirre (attribute or quality peculiar to a species) · fi erikoisuus (that in which one specializes) · es especialidad (that in which one specializes) · mr खासियत (that in which one specializes) · pt especialidade (that in which one specializes) · hy մասնագիտություն (that in which one specializes) · it specialità (that in which one specializes) · is sérréttur (that in which one specializes) · fi spesialiteetti (that in which one specializes) · sv specialité (product that is characteristic of a place) · cmn 特色 (product that is characteristic of a place) · mr विशेषता (that in which one specializes) · pl specjalność (that in which one specializes) · hu specialitás (that in which one specializes) · pl cecha szczególna (attribute or quality peculiar to a species) · hu különlegesség (that in which one specializes) · ru специализа́ция (that in which one specializes) · ar اِخْتِصَاص (that in which one specializes) · arz اختصاص (that in which one specializes) · fi erikoistapaus (particular or peculiar case) · nl specialiteit (that in which one specializes) · cmn 專業 /专业 (that in which one specializes) · no spesialitet (that in which one specializes) · tl katangian (attribute or quality peculiar to a species) · de Spezialität (that in which one specializes) · bg особеност (attribute or quality peculiar to a species) · sv specialitet (that in which one specializes) · pl specjalność (product that is characteristic of a place) · ru специа́льность (that in which one specializes) · mk специја́лност (that in which one specializes) · tl katangian (that in which one specializes) · mk осо́бина (attribute or quality peculiar to a species)