'specify' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'specificare,' where 'speci-' meant 'kind or type' and '-ficare' meant 'to make.'

'specificare' transformed into the Old French word 'specifier,' and eventually became the modern English word 'specify' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'to make a kind or type,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to state or describe clearly and exactly.'