Word Study
special
CIDE DICTIONARY
special, a. [L. specialis, fr. species a particular sort, kind, or quality: cf. F. spécial. See Species, and cf. Especial.].
- Of or pertaining to a species; constituting a species or sort. [1913 Webster]"A special is called by the schools a “species”." [1913 Webster]
- Particular; peculiar; different from others; extraordinary; uncommon. [1913 Webster]"Our Savior is represented everywhere in Scripture as the special patron of the poor and the afficted." [1913 Webster]"To this special evil an improvement of style would apply a special redress." [1913 Webster]
- Appropriate; designed for a particular purpose, occasion, or person; as, a special act of Parliament or of Congress; a special sermon. [1913 Webster]
- Limited in range; confined to a definite field of action, investigation, or discussion; as, a special dictionary of commercial terms; a special branch of study. [1913 Webster]
- Chief in excellence. [1913 Webster]"The king hath drawn
The special head of all the land together." [1913 Webster]
Syn. -- Peculiar; appropriate; specific; dictinctive; particular; exceptional; singular. See Peculiar.
special, n.
- A particular. Hammond. [1913 Webster]
- One appointed for a special service or occasion. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
special, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 a particularly good; exceptional; out of the ordinary (bought them a special present; took special trouble). b peculiar; specific; not general (lacks the special qualities required; the word has a special sense).
2 for a particular purpose (sent on a special assignment).
3 in which a person specializes (statistics is his special field).
4 denoting education for children with particular needs, e.g. the handicapped.
--n. a special person or thing, e.g. a special constable, train, examination, edition of a newspaper, dish on a menu, etc.
--adj.
1 a particularly good; exceptional; out of the ordinary (bought them a special present; took special trouble). b peculiar; specific; not general (lacks the special qualities required; the word has a special sense).
2 for a particular purpose (sent on a special assignment).
3 in which a person specializes (statistics is his special field).
4 denoting education for children with particular needs, e.g. the handicapped.
--n. a special person or thing, e.g. a special constable, train, examination, edition of a newspaper, dish on a menu, etc.
Idiom
special area Brit. a district for which special economic provision is made in legislation. Special Branch (in the UK) a police department dealing with political security. special case
1 a written statement of fact presented by litigants to a court.
2 an exceptional or unusual case. special constable Brit. a policeman sworn in to assist in times of emergency etc. special correspondent a journalist writing for a newspaper on special events or a special area of interest. special delivery a delivery of mail in advance of the regular delivery. special drawing rights the right to purchase extra foreign currency from the International Monetary Fund. special edition an extra edition of a newspaper including later news than the ordinary edition. special effects scenic illusions created by props and camera-work. special intention see INTENTION. special jury a jury with members of a particular social standing (cf. common jury). special licence Brit. a marriage licence allowing immediate marriage without banns, or at an unusual time or place.
special pleading
1 Law pleading with reference to new facts in a case.
2 a specious or unfair argument favouring the speaker's point of view. special verdict Law a verdict stating the facts as proved but leaving the court to draw conclusions from them.
1 a written statement of fact presented by litigants to a court.
2 an exceptional or unusual case. special constable Brit. a policeman sworn in to assist in times of emergency etc. special correspondent a journalist writing for a newspaper on special events or a special area of interest. special delivery a delivery of mail in advance of the regular delivery. special drawing rights the right to purchase extra foreign currency from the International Monetary Fund. special edition an extra edition of a newspaper including later news than the ordinary edition. special effects scenic illusions created by props and camera-work. special intention see INTENTION. special jury a jury with members of a particular social standing (cf. common jury). special licence Brit. a marriage licence allowing immediate marriage without banns, or at an unusual time or place.
special pleading
1 Law pleading with reference to new facts in a case.
2 a specious or unfair argument favouring the speaker's point of view. special verdict Law a verdict stating the facts as proved but leaving the court to draw conclusions from them.
Derivative
specially adv. specialness n.
Etymology
ME f. OF especial ESPECIAL or L specialis (as SPECIES)
THESAURUS
special
Amtrak, absolute, another, article, article of commerce, article of merchandise, baggage train, best, bizarre, bosom, cable railroad, categorical, celebrated, celebratory, certain, characteristic, choo-choo, classificational, classificatory, close, closest, cog railroad, cog railway, commodity, concerted, concrete, conspicuous, curious, daily, daily newspaper, dear, defined, defining, definite, deliberate, denominative, designated, detailed, determinate, determined, devoted, different, differential, distinct, distinctive, distinctively, distinguished, divisional, divisionary, drug, el, electric, electric train, elevated, else, eminent, esoteric, especial, esteemed, estimable, exact, exceptional, exclusive, express, express train, extra, extra edition, extraordinary, faithful, feature, festive, finicky, fixed, flier, freight, freight train, freighter, full, funicular, fussy, gala, gazette, good, goods train, idiosyncratic, important, individual, inimitable, inner, interurban, intimate, item, lead item, leader, leading card, lightning express, limited, local, loss leader, loyal, main feature, major, marked, memorable, meticulous, metro, milk train, minute, momentous, monorail, national newspaper, neighborhood newspaper, news, newspaper, newspaper of record, nice, noble, not that sort, not the same, not the type, notable, noteworthy, occasional, odd, of a sort, of another sort, of mark, of sorts, ordinal, other, other than, otherwise, outstanding, paper, paramount, parliamentary, parliamentary train, particular, particularly, passenger train, peculiar, personal, picayune, pointed, precise, prestigious, primary, prime, private, product, prominent, rack-and-pinion railroad, rag, railroad train, rare, rattler, red-letter, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, respective, rolling stock, salient, seconds, set, several, sheet, shuttle, shuttle train, signal, significant, singular, solipsistic, special edition, speciality, specialized, specially, specific, specifically, standard article, staple, staple item, staunch, steadfast, strange, streamliner, striking, subdivisional, subway, sui generis, tabloid, taxonomic, telling, train, tube, typal, typical, uncommon, unconventional, underground, unforgettable, unique, unorthodox, unusual, valued, vendible, ware, way train, weekly, weekly newspaper, weirdROGET THESAURUS
special
Speciality
N speciality, specialite, individuality, individuity, particularity, peculiarity, idiocrasy, personality, characteristic, mannerism, idiosyncrasy, specificness, singularity, reading, version, lection, state, trait, distinctive feature, technicality, differentia, particulars, details, items, counts, minutiae, I, self, I myself, myself, himself, herself, itself, special, particular, individual, specific, proper, personal, original, private, respective, definite, determinate, especial, certain, esoteric, endemic, partial, party, peculiar, appropriate, several, characteristic, diagnostic, exclusive, singular, idiomatic, idiotypical, typical, this, that, yon, yonder, specially, especially, particularly, in particular, in propria persona, ad hominem, for my part, each, apiece, one by one, one at a time, severally, respectively, each to each, seriatim, in detail, in great detail, in excruciating detail, in mind-numbing detail, bit by bit, pro hac vice, pro re nata, namely, that is to say, for example, id est, exemplia gratia, e, g, i, e, videlicet, viz, to wit, le style est l'homme meme.Limit
N limit, boundary, bounds, confine, enclave, term, bourn, verge, curbstone, but, pale, reservation, termination, terminus, stint, frontier, precinct, marches, backwoods, boundary line, landmark, line of demarcation, line of circumvallation, pillars of Hercules, Rubicon, turning point, ne plus ultra, sluice, floodgate, definite, conterminate, conterminable, terminal, frontier, bordering, thus far, thus far and no further, stick to the reservation, go beyond the pale, Special.For further exploring for "special" in Webster Dictionary Online