Specify

Specify

Verb · /ˈspesɪfaɪ/ · to state or describe something precisely and in detail

Definition

To specify is to state something clearly, precisely, and in enough detail to leave no room for ambiguity or misinterpretation. When you specify, you are not merely mentioning something — you are committing to a particular value, condition, or requirement. Specify colour green means green, not teal or lime. Specify format as JSON means JSON, not XML. Specify delivery by Friday means Friday, not the end of the week. The word carries a sense of deliberate precision — of narrowing possibility down to a single, clearly defined choice.

Origin

Specify entered English in the fifteenth century from Old French specifier and Medieval Latin specificare, built from the Latin species — meaning kind or type — and facere — to make or do. To specify the species of something was to identify its exact kind. This classical root gives specify its consistent meaning across centuries: to make a general idea precise by identifying the exact type, quantity, or condition intended. The word has been part of English professional and legal language for over five hundred years.