from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- adj. Of special importance or significance; exceptional: an occasion of especial joy.
- adj. Relating to or directed toward a particular person, group, or purpose: called his father with especial birthday wishes; gave especial attention to the decorations.
- adj. Peculiar to the individual; characteristic: She has an especial fondness for mushrooms.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. Of exceptional importance or significance.
- adj. Particular to an individual.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. Distinguished among others of the same class or kind; special; concerning a species or a single object; principal; particular.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of a particular kind; distinguished from others of the same class or kind; particular; eminent; principal; chief: as, in an especial manner or degree.
- Synonyms See special.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adj. surpassing what is common or usual or expected
Middle English, from Old French, from Latin speciālis, of a kind, from speciēs, species; see spek- in Indo-European roots.(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Middle English, via Old French, from Latin specialis, from species ("appearance, form, beauty"), from specere ("to look"). Related to English special and species. (Wiktionary)