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special

A very abused English word in the information industry. Phrases such as "it is a special type of format" or "it uses a special code for that purpose" are found frequently in documentation. However, anything that is created to solve a problem is merely the solution. What makes something special is that it does the same job better and stands out among its peers, not that it just "does" the job. The way many people use the word, everything under the sun would be special because it exists. That may be true philosophically, but not for technical writing. See specialty software.

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special

1. denoting or relating to the education of physically or mentally handicapped children

2. Austral history slang a convict given special treatment on account of his education, social class, etc.

3. short for special constable

4. Austral, NZ, US and Canadian informal an item in a store that is advertised at a reduced price; a loss leader

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(language, specification)

SPECIAL - A specification language developed at SRI around 1976. ["SPECIAL - A Specification and Assertion Language", L. Robinson et al, TR CSL-46, SRI, Jan 1977].