specially

See also: 'specially

English

Etymology

From Middle English specialli, specially, equivalent to special +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɛʃəli/
• Hyphenation: spe‧cial‧ly

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

specially (not comparable)

1. For a special purpose, person, or occasion.

   We had this cake made specially for your birthday.

   The train is waiting specially for a high-ranking diplomat.

   The school is specially for any child whose schooling was disrupted by illness.

2. (proscribed) extremely

   She's specially good at running.

3. (proscribed) in particular

   I love all animals, specially cute furry ones.

Usage notes

• Senses 2 and 3 are non-standard; in such cases, especially is far more common, and considered correct.

Synonyms

• (for a special purpose): especially
• (extremely): exceedingly, passing, quite; see also Thesaurus:very
• (in particular): see also Thesaurus:specifically

Translations

for a special purpose

• Bulgarian: специално (bg) (specialno), нарочно (bg) (naročno)
• Catalan: especialment (ca)
• Chinese: 特意 (zh) (tèyì), 特地 (zh) (tèdì)
• Esperanto: speciale (eo), spefice
• Finnish: erityisesti (fi)
• French: particulièrement (fr), spécialement (fr)
• Galician: especialmente (gl)
• German: speziell (de)
• Hungarian: külön (hu), kimondottan (hu), kifejezetten (hu), direkt (hu)
• Japanese: わざわざ (ja) (wazawaza)
• Korean: 일부러 (ko) (ilbureo)
• Kunigami: わじゃーわじゃー (wajāwajā)
• Miyako: わざわざ (wazawaza) (Hirara dialect), うったーてぃー (uttātī) (Ikema Nishihara dialect) わじゃわじゃ (/⁠ʋadʑaʋadʑa⁠/) (Tarama dialect)
• Northern Amami Ōshima: わざわざ (wazawaza)
• Okinawan: うったーてぃ (uttāti), わちゃこーげーじ (wachakōgēji), わざわざ (wazawaza)
• Okinoerabu: わざわざ (wazawaza)
• Portuguese: especialmente (pt)
• Russian: специа́льно (ru) (speciálʹno),
• Spanish: especialmente (es)
• Tokunoshima: わざわざ (wazawaza)
• Ukrainian: спеціа́льно (uk) (speciálʹno)
• Yaeyama: わざわざ (wazawaza), うたーでぃ (utādi), たまさか (tamasaka), たまたま (tamatama), うざとぅ (uzatu)
• Yonaguni: ばだばだ (badabada)
• Yoron: あしくら (ashikura), あしくらたでぃ (ashikura tadi), わじゃわじゃ (wajawaja)

(proscribed) extremely — see extremely,‎ exceedingly

(proscribed) in particular — see in particular,‎ specifically

See also

• especially

Middle English

Adverb

specially

1. Alternative form of specialli