especially
/ɪˈspɛʃ.(ə.)li/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.21 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
Particularly; to a greater extent than is normal.
adv
Exeptionally.
Example Sentences
- "He got up early especially."
- "L.N.E.R. class "Y6" 3 ft. 1 in. 0-4-0 steam tram locomotive No. 7133 This locomotive, constructed at the Stratford works of the former Great Eastern Railway in 1897, was one of six which were built between 1883 and 1897 especially to work the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway."
- "The buildings are not especially large."
- "In 1883, the contract came up for renewal, the L.N.W.R. received it, and the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was set aside. But there was a certain miasma of secrecy about the affair, so that many, especially in Ireland, looked for information and insisted on getting it."
- "There is now such an immense "microliterature" on hepatics that, beyond a certain point I have given up trying to integrate (and evaluate) every minor paper published—especially narrowly floristic papers."
- "At tech companies that spent recent years expanding paid parental leave, parents have felt the whiplash of mass layoffs in an especially visceral way."
Etymology
Etymology tree English especial Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English especially From especial + -ly.
Inflected Forms
more especially (comparative)
most especially (superlative)
esp. (alternative, abbreviation)
esp (alternative, abbreviation)
esp (alternative, Internet)
espc (alternative, Internet)