'specific' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'specificus,' where 'species' meant 'kind or type' and '-ficus' meant 'making or doing.'

'specificus' transformed into the French word 'spécifique,' and eventually became the modern English word 'specific' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'pertaining to a particular kind or type,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.