Unspecified

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ʌnˈspɛ.sɪ.faɪd/

Definitions

1. Not identified, named, or explicitly stated; left vague or undefined
2. Lacking a clear identification or precise description, this term refers to something that is not explicitly detailed or recognized
3. It denotes a situation or item that has not been clearly defined, resulting in ambiguity or lack of specification

Etymology: "Unspecified" is about as transparent as English compounds get: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "specified," the past participle of "specify." The prefix itself runs back through Old English and Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European negative particle, the same ancestor that gave Latin "in-" and Greek "a-" their negating force. So the word's history is less a story of change than of a very old negation meeting a verb borrowed from Latin. "Specify" is the piece that matters. It derives from Latin "specificare," built from "species" (kind, sort) and "facere" (to make), so it means literally to make into a particular kind or to name something precisely. Once "un-" is added, the result describes a thing that has not been made into a definite kind, which is exactly the sense of lacking detail or clear definition that the word carries today.

Synonyms: indeterminate, vague

Antonyms: specific, definite