Word Confusion: Spec versus Speck

Posted August 4, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
1 Jan 2023

I’m sure that that “spec in her eye” was simply a typo, but it did inspire me to have a peek at this word confusion spec versus speck.

Spec is most commonly used as a shortcut for specification. Ya gotta admit it’s less of a mouthful.

As for speck, it’s an innocuous word, and I tend to see it as a negative, as I connect it with specks of dirt, paint, mucky bits. Then I discovered that speck is also a type of bacon. Yep. I do love my ham and discovering that about speck got my juices going.

Spec versus speck is also an heterograph (a subset of homophone), but that’s all the two words have in common.

You may also want to have a look at “Pec versus Peck“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Spec	Speck
Specification and Levels of Development is in the public domain and courtesy of the US government. — Plenty of specs here.	Speck Schinken Libbensmittel by Reinhard Thrainer is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: specs Third person present verb: specs Past tense or past participle: spec’d, specced, or specked Present participle: spec’ing, speccing, or specking	Noun ¹, ²; Verb, transitive ¹ Plural for the noun: specks Gerund: specking Third person present verb: specks Past tense or past participle: specked Present participle: specking
Slang Adjective: Built, done, bought, etc., as a speculation Of or relating to specifications Noun: [Usually specifications or specs.] An act of describing or identifying something precisely or of stating a precise requirement A detailed description or assessment of requirements, dimensions, materials, etc., as of a proposed building, machine, bridge, etc. A standard of workmanship, materials, etc., required to be met in a piece of work A description of an invention accompanying an application for a patent [Informal; in phrase on spec] In the hope of success but without any specific commission or instructions [specs] Spectacles Glasses Verb, transitive: To write, supply, or provide specifications for	Noun: A tiny spot ¹ A small particle of a substance A rotten spot in fruit A smoked ham of a type produced in northeastern Italy ² Verb, transitive: [Usually be specked] Mark with small spots ¹
Examples:
Adjective: He was into the construction of spec houses. I picked up the manufacturer’s spec sheet. It’s a spec job, but I think I have a chance. He was a spec developer. Noun: Can you give me a full spec of the job advertised? There was no clear spec of objectives. John just turned in his spec. Everything was built to higher specs. We’re drawing up the specs for your new bathroom this week. Your patent spec has got to be complete. He built the factory on spec and hoped someone would buy it. I’ll have to look at the specs on the equipment. Our spec chart indicates a transmission speed of 9 seconds. Did you find your specs? Verb, transitive: Their newest truck was spec’d by a computer. I have seen players spec their characters into real killing machines. You can also spec your TwinTop with a 197bhp engine. Each machine is currently specced to 64MB of memory. Someone’s already speccing the code and writing the business plan.	Noun: The figure in the distance had become a mere speck. Floaters are tiny spots or specks that seem to float across your eyes. I can’t believe you got specks of paint everywhere! There were specks of dust everywhere. I had specks of soot all over my pants. We haven’t a speck of flour. There’s not a speck of dust anywhere in her house. She saw a speck of light at the end of the tunnel. The peaches had specks on them. Lardo and pancetta are two varieties of speck from Italy. Lay the slices of speck over the melon and serve immediately. Verb, transitive: Their skin was specked with goose pimples. Blood spurted everywhere, some specked Wythene’s face. They both had the same color hair (although Eric’s was specked with gray and white) and the attitude had to run in their blood. The mustache and short beard were orange specked with gray. Carlton Beach on Saturday was specked with stars, champagne, and fine food.
Derivatives:
Abbreviation: specif. Adjective: specifiable, specific, speculative Adverb: specifically Noun: spec’er, specific, specification, specificity, specifier, specker, speculation	Adjective: speckless, specklier, speckliest, speckly Adverb: specklessly Noun: speckedness, specklessness
History of the Word:
Late 16th century, from the medieval Latin specificatio(n-), which is from the late Latin specificare, which, by the late 18th century became an abbreviation for speculation.	Old English specca is related to the Middle Dutch spekelen meaning to sprinkle. Via the Italian from the Dutch spek, the German Speck meaning fat bacon, whale blubber (in which sense it was formerly used in English) and related to the Old English spec.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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