Etymograph

English

subspecify

From sub- + specify.

Formed from sub- + specify

Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’

Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’

Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’

English sub-

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

…

Medieval Latin specificus ‘specific’

Medieval Latin specificō

Old French specifier

Middle English specifien

English specify

Today it means

verb To specify further or more precisely.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “subspecify”. 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 / subspecify

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