special adj

1 unique or specific to a person or thing or category; "the particular demands of the job"; "has a paraticular preference for Chinese art"; "a peculiar bond of sympathy between them"; "an expression peculiar to Canadians"; "rights peculiar to the rich"; "the special features of a computer"; "my own special chair" [syn: particular(a), peculiar(a), special(a)]

2 for a special service or occasion; "a special correspondent"; "a special adviser to the committee"; "had to get special permission for the event"

3 surpassing what is common or usual or expected; "he paid especial attention to her"; "exceptional kindness"; "a matter of particular and unusual importance"; "a special occasion"; "a special reason to confide in her"; "what's so special about the year 2000?" [syn: especial(a), exceptional, particular(a)]

4 adapted to or reserved for a particular purpose; "a special kind of paint"; "a special medication for arthritis"

5 having a specific function or scope; "a special (or specific) role in the mission" [syn: limited]

6 first and most important; "his special interest is music"; "she gets special (or particular) satisfaction from her volunteer work" [syn: particular]

7 added to a regular schedule; "a special holiday flight"; "put on special buses for the big game" [syn: extra]

1 a special offering (usually temporary and at a reduced price) that is featured in advertising; "they are having a special on pork chops"

2 a dish or meal given prominence in e.g. a restaurant

3 a television production that features a particular person or work or topic; "the last of a series of BBC specials on Iran is being shown tonight"

English

Pronunciation

• /ˈspeʃəl/
• /"speS@l/

• Rhymes: -ɛʃəl

Etymology

From especial (French: spécial), from specialis (< species, speciei). Used in English since the 13th Century.

Adjective

1. of particular interest; dear; beloved; favored
2. (offensive slang): retarded; handicapped

Translations

• Arabic:
• Chinese: 特别的 (tèbié de), 专门的 (zhuānmén de)
• Czech: zvláštní
• Dutch: speciaal
• Esperanto: speciala
• Finnish: erityinen, erikoinen, erityis-
• French: spécial
• German: speziell, Spezial-
• Hebrew: מיוחד (me-yukhad)
• Hungarian: különleges, speciális
• Ido: partikulara
• Italian: speciale
• Japanese: 特別な (とくべつな, tokubetsu na)
• Korean: 특별한 (teukbyeolhan)
• Polish: specjalny, wyjątkowy
• Portuguese: especial
• Norwegian: spesiell
• Russian: специальный (spetsiál’nyj)
• Spanish: especial
• Swedish: speciell
• Tagalog: espesyal, natatangi, pantangi
• Telugu: ప్రత్యేక (pratyaeka)
• Turkish: özel

Related terms

• specialisation, specialization
• specialise, specialize
• specialist
• speciality, specialty
• specially

Noun

1. A reduction in consumer cost (usually for a limited time) for items or services rendered

Special may refer to:

• Special needs, a diagnosis used to classify children as needing more services than those children without special needs
• Special teams, units in American football and Canadian football that are on the field during kickoffs, free kicks, punts, and field goal and extra point attempts
• Television special, a television program, typically a short film or television movie, which interrupts or temporarily replaces scheduled programming
• Very special episode, an advertising term for an episode of a television program that deals with a serious and/or controversial social issue
• Special effects, visual effects used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create scenes that cannot be achieved by normal means
• Adcox Special, a biplane built in Portland, Oregon in 1929
• The SPECIAL System, the character creation system of the computer role-playing game Fallout
• A special constable, a volunteer police officer
• Special relationship is a phrase originating in the United Kingdom used to characterise what British advocates view as the positive political, diplomatic, historical, and relations between the United States and member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations or the United Kingdom.

In music:

• The Specials, a British Two Tone band formed in 1977 in Coventry
• "Special" (Garbage song), a 1998 song by Garbage
• "Special" (Mew song), a 2006 single by Danish indie band Mew
• "Special" (Stephen Lynch song), a song off of Stephen Lynch's debut album A Little Bit Special

In film and television:

• "Special" (Lost), an episode of the TV series Lost
• Special (lighting), a stage light that is used for a single, specific purpose
• Special (film), a 2006 film about a man who believes he is a superhero.
• The Specials (film), a 2000 film about a group of superheroes on holiday.

Special may also be:

• A special price, a form of discounts and allowances
• A kit car or one-off home built vehicle.
• A euphemism for someone with a mental disability
• A draught beer sold in Scotland, colloquially known as "heavy"; as distinct from other beers being "export" and lager

See also

• Special forces (disambiguation)
• Specialization

Amtrak, absolute, another, article, article of commerce, article of merchandise, baggage train, best, bizarre, bosom, cable railroad, categorical, celebrated, celebratory, certain, characteristic, choo-choo, classificational, classificatory, close, closest, cog railroad, cog railway, commodity, concerted, concrete, conspicuous, curious, daily, daily newspaper, dear, defined, defining, definite, deliberate, denominative, designated, detailed, determinate, determined, devoted, different, differential, distinct, distinctive, distinctively, distinguished, divisional, divisionary, drug, el, electric, electric train, elevated, else, eminent, esoteric, especial, esteemed, estimable, exact, exceptional, exclusive, express, express train, extra, extra edition, extraordinary, faithful, feature, festive, finicky, fixed, flier, freight, freight train, freighter, full, funicular, fussy, gala, gazette, good, goods train, idiosyncratic, important, individual, inimitable, inner, interurban, intimate, item, lead item, leader, leading card, lightning express, limited, local, loss leader, loyal, main feature, major, marked, memorable, meticulous, metro, milk train, minute, momentous, monorail, national newspaper, neighborhood newspaper, news, newspaper, newspaper of record, nice, noble, not that sort, not the same, not the type, notable, noteworthy, occasional, odd, of a sort, of another sort, of mark, of sorts, ordinal, other, other than, otherwise, outstanding, paper, paramount, parliamentary, parliamentary train, particular, particularly, passenger train, peculiar, personal, picayune, pointed, precise, prestigious, primary, prime, private, product, prominent, rack-and-pinion railroad, rag, railroad train, rare, rattler, red-letter, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, respective, rolling stock, salient, seconds, set, several, sheet, shuttle, shuttle train, signal, significant, singular, solipsistic, special edition, speciality, specialized, specially, specific, specifically, standard article, staple, staple item, staunch, steadfast, strange, streamliner, striking, subdivisional, subway, sui generis, tabloid, taxonomic, telling, train, tube, typal, typical, uncommon, unconventional, underground, unforgettable, unique, unorthodox, unusual, valued, vendible, ware, way train, weekly, weekly newspaper, weird