Word.ws English Dictionary

speciality

UK/ˌspɛʃiˈælɪti/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

South Asia/spɛˈʃæl(ɪ)ʈi/

speciality is the UK standard form of specialty.

Meaning of specialty

Noun

specialty (plural specialties)

  1. (Australia, Canada, US) That in which one specializes; a chosen expertise or talent; bailiwick.
    • Near-synonym: discipline
  2. (Australia, Canada, US) A product that originates in and is characteristic of a place.
    • regional specialty
  3. (Australia, Canada, US, obsolete) Particularity.
    • The specialty of rule hath been neglected:
      And, look, how many Grecian tents do stand
      Hollow upon this plain, so many hollow factions.c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  4. (Australia, Canada, US) A particular or peculiar case.
  5. (Australia, Canada, US) An attribute or quality peculiar to a species.
  6. (Australia, Canada, US) A contract or obligation under seal; a contract by deed; a writing, under seal, given as security for a debt particularly specified.
    • Let specialties be therefore drawne betweene vs,
      That couenants may be kept on either hand.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Forms of speciality

pluralspecialities

Origin of speciality

From special + -ity, from Middle French spécialité, from Old French specialte, especialte, from Latin specialitas.

Words formed from speciality

Words that rhyme with speciality

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about speciality

What is speciality the UK standard form of?
Speciality is the UK standard form of specialty.
How do you pronounce speciality?
Speciality is pronounced /ˌspɛʃiˈælɪti/ (UK).

Words near speciality in the dictionary

  1. specialist
  2. specialistic
  3. specialistically
  4. specialists
  5. specialities
  6. speciality
  7. specializable
  8. specialization
  9. specializations
  10. specialize
  11. specialized

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: speciality (page history and authors); specialty (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-speciality.oga.

Cite this entry: “speciality.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/speciality. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.