Etymograph

English

spice

Spice comes from Old French espice, from Late Latin speciēs ‘spice, good, ware’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-1‘to see, to look, to observe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spéḱyeti2‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spekjō2‘to observe, see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspeciō3‘to see’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspeciēs4‘spice, good, ware’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espice4
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400spece4
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spice4‘Spices as used as scents or to enhance the smell of something’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1934spice4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin specio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin species
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English spice
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “I'm not going to promise anything after the perfectly…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti‘to see, to look, to observe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spéḱyetiWiktionary, Latin specio‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spekjōWiktionary, Latin specio‘to observe, see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspeciōWiktionary, Latin species‘to see’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspeciēsWiktionary, English spice‘spice, good, ware’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espiceWiktionary, English spice
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400speceWiktionary, English spice
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spiceWiktionary, English spice‘Spices as used as scents or to enhance the smell of something’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1934spiceWiktionary, English spice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “I'm not going to promise anything after the perfectly…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’

spy, suspicion, microscope, espionage, kaleidoscope, skeptic, gyroscope, espy, 112 more

through Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti ‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’

scope, skeptical, macroscopic, spectroscopic, endoscopic, 110 more

through Proto-Italic *spekjō ‘to observe, see’

speculation, speculative, speculate, inconspicuous, specular, 22 more

through Latin speciō ‘to see’

respect, despite, perspective, aspect, inspector, spectrum, expectation, inspection, spectacular, specimen, spite, spectacle, inspect, retrospective, spectator, retrospect, expectant, specter, conspicuous, especial, circumspect, speculator, 24 more

through Late Latin speciēs ‘spice, good, ware’

special, species, specific, specify, specious, 4 more

Today it means

noun Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti, Latin specio, Latin species. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- / spice

Shirt and support for this word