specs

C2+ Topic:Communication

US /spɛks/ UK /spɛks/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
informal term for spectacles or for technical specifications

He pushed his specs up his nose and squinted at the screen.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · informal term for... spectacles glasses eyeglasses specifications

Word family

Related forms spectacles specification

Etymology

An informal clipping, either of spectacles (from Latin spectaculum, from spectare 'to watch') or of specifications (from Latin species + facere); both ultimately rest on Latin specere ('to look').

specere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication Register & Style

External links

# specs

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /spɛks/
**IPA (UK):** /spɛks/

## Meanings
1. informal term for spectacles or for technical specifications

## Examples
- He pushed his specs up his nose and squinted at the screen.

## Synonyms
- spectacles
- glasses
- eyeglasses
- specifications

## Related Forms
- spectacles
- specification

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: specere - to look at

## Etymology
An informal clipping, either of spectacles (from Latin spectaculum, from spectare 'to watch') or of specifications (from Latin species + facere); both ultimately rest on Latin specere ('to look').

## AI Etymology
Specs is an informal clipping, either of spectacles (from Latin spectaculum, from spectare 'to watch') or of specifications (from Latin species + facere); both ultimately rest on Latin specere ('to look'). The historical chain includes Latin specere. Older glosses in the chain include "to watch" and "to look", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, specs is best read as compound, clipping, and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "informal term for spectacles or for technical specifications". related forms include spectacles and specification. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Communication
- Register & Style

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