Speced or Specced?

[ion]

If a feature was defined in a specification, would you say it had been
speced, or that it had been specced?
Google returns 336K for 'speced' and only 117K hits for 'specced,' but
the latter seems more correct to me. We wouldn't say 'specified.'

[Skitt]

Post by ion
If a feature was defined in a specification, would you say it had been
speced, or that it had been specced?
Google returns 336K for 'speced' and only 117K hits for 'specced,' but
the latter seems more correct to me. We wouldn't say 'specified.'

Sometimes it is wise to look in a dictionary.

From www.m-w.com:

Main Entry: spec
Pronunciation: 'spek
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): specced or spec'd /'spekt/; spec·cing
Etymology: 2specs
: to write specifications for

[ion]

Thanks, Skitt. I totally forgot about dictionaries. That's a little
embarrassing to admit, but there you are.

[Martin Ambuhl]

Post by Skitt
Sometimes it is wise to look in a dictionary.
Main Entry: spec
Pronunciation: 'spek
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): specced or spec'd /'spekt/; spec·cing
Etymology: 2specs
: to write specifications for

This appears to be an example to add to the transpondial difference
file. None of my Oxford dictionaries (up to COD11, SOED5, OED 3.1, or
even the one for Americans, NOAD 2001) or my Chambers dictionaries
(through 2003) admit that there is a use of 'spec' as a verb. On the
other hand, AHD4 and MWCD11 have it.

[the Omrud]

Post by Martin Ambuhl

Post by Skitt
Sometimes it is wise to look in a dictionary.
Main Entry: spec
Pronunciation: 'spek
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): specced or spec'd /'spekt/; spec·cing
Etymology: 2specs
: to write specifications for

This appears to be an example to add to the transpondial difference
file. None of my Oxford dictionaries (up to COD11, SOED5, OED 3.1, or
even the one for Americans, NOAD 2001) or my Chambers dictionaries
(through 2003) admit that there is a use of 'spec' as a verb. On the
other hand, AHD4 and MWCD11 have it.

Perfectly normal daily language for me in the UK, although I am, of
course, in a profession which talks about specs as a matter of
routine.

[Martin Ambuhl]

Post by the Omrud

Post by Martin Ambuhl

Post by Skitt
Sometimes it is wise to look in a dictionary.
Main Entry: spec
Pronunciation: 'spek
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): specced or spec'd /'spekt/; spec·cing
Etymology: 2specs
: to write specifications for

This appears to be an example to add to the transpondial difference
file. None of my Oxford dictionaries (up to COD11, SOED5, OED 3.1, or
even the one for Americans, NOAD 2001) or my Chambers dictionaries
(through 2003) admit that there is a use of 'spec' as a verb. On the
other hand, AHD4 and MWCD11 have it.

Perfectly normal daily language for me in the UK, although I am, of
course, in a profession which talks about specs as a matter of
routine.

All of the above have the usage in your sentence, that is, as a noun.

[the Omrud]

Post by Martin Ambuhl

Post by the Omrud

Post by Martin Ambuhl

Post by Skitt
Sometimes it is wise to look in a dictionary.
Main Entry: spec
Pronunciation: 'spek
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): specced or spec'd /'spekt/; spec·cing
Etymology: 2specs
: to write specifications for

This appears to be an example to add to the transpondial difference
file. None of my Oxford dictionaries (up to COD11, SOED5, OED 3.1, or
even the one for Americans, NOAD 2001) or my Chambers dictionaries
(through 2003) admit that there is a use of 'spec' as a verb. On the
other hand, AHD4 and MWCD11 have it.

Perfectly normal daily language for me in the UK, although I am, of
course, in a profession which talks about specs as a matter of
routine.

All of the above have the usage in your sentence, that is, as a noun.

Perhaps I should have explained explicitly that I have both the verb
and noun in my vocab - I didn't intend my sentence as an example.
But I will do so now:

When you've finished speccing the changes, please send me the spec.

But it's not something we write down - the noun "spec" is written
"specification" and the verb "spec" is written "specify".

[ion]

So, you're plumping for 'specified' after all? I think there's an
additional connotation to 'specced.' If you say 'specified,' it's
discomfiting unless you explicitly refer to the specification.
'Specced' has an implicit reference to the relevant body of specifiying
work. But, that's just my viscera talking.

[Evan Kirshenbaum]

Post by the Omrud
But it's not something we write down - the noun "spec" is written
"specification" and the verb "spec" is written "specify".

I see a difference between "specifying" and "writing the specification
for". Only the latter is speccing. If I "specify the protocol" I
pick which one is to be used. If I "spec the protocol", I work out
the details of how it works.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Bullwinkle: You sure that's the
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 | only way?
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |Rocky: Well, if you're going to be
| a hero, you've got to do
***@hpl.hp.com | stupid things every once in
[phone] | a while.

http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

[the Omrud]

Post by Evan Kirshenbaum

Post by the Omrud
But it's not something we write down - the noun "spec" is written
"specification" and the verb "spec" is written "specify".

I see a difference between "specifying" and "writing the specification
for". Only the latter is speccing. If I "specify the protocol" I
pick which one is to be used. If I "spec the protocol", I work out
the details of how it works.

You may be right (as may ion). It's just that we don't write
"specced" down. I don't think I've ever seen it in print before so I
actually have no idea how to spell it.

[ion]

Thanks everyone for your help. I do appreciate it.
OK, I've got another one. 'Misscoped' doesn't seem to be a word.
Dict.org's got nothing on it, neither does dictionary.com or m-w.com. I
feel like I'm taking crazy pills, here. Should I walk around saying
'incorrectly scoped?'
Ion

[Donna Richoux]

Post by ion
Thanks everyone for your help. I do appreciate it.
OK, I've got another one. 'Misscoped' doesn't seem to be a word.
Dict.org's got nothing on it, neither does dictionary.com or m-w.com. I
feel like I'm taking crazy pills, here. Should I walk around saying
'incorrectly scoped?'
Ion

Google shows results for both "mis-scoped" and "misscoped", though not
very many. What does it mean?

[the Omrud]

Post by Donna Richoux

Post by ion
Thanks everyone for your help. I do appreciate it.
OK, I've got another one. 'Misscoped' doesn't seem to be a word.
Dict.org's got nothing on it, neither does dictionary.com or m-w.com. I
feel like I'm taking crazy pills, here. Should I walk around saying
'incorrectly scoped?'
Ion

Google shows results for both "mis-scoped" and "misscoped", though not
very many. What does it mean?

"to scope" is to define the parameters of a project, job, deliverable
or whatever. I might say "Have you scoped the database project?". I
don't think I've ever said "mis-scoped" but it's clear what it means.

More interesting perhaps is the phenomenon of "scope creep" which is
where the deliverables of a project change in an imperceptible
manner, bit by bit. You wake up one day and realise that you are now
committed to delivering considerably more than you originally agreed
to.

[Mark Brader]

Post by ion
If a feature was defined in a specification, would you say it had been
speced, or that it had been specced?

Specced.

Post by ion
Google returns 336K for 'speced' and only 117K hits for 'specced' ...

But look at them. Most of the "speced" hits are on the short form
of "Special Education".

[Bob Cunningham]

Post by ion
If a feature was defined in a specification, would
you say it had been speced, or that it had been
specced?
Google returns 336K for 'speced'

"Speced" looks like it should be pronounced "speesed",
rhyming with "released".

Post by ion
and only 117K hits for 'specced,' but
the latter seems more correct to me. We wouldn't say
'specified.'

Google hits and dictionaries aside, I think it should be
"specked", conforming to the pattern of

mimic, mimicked, mimicking
frolic, frolicked, frolicking
havoc, havocked, havocking
magic, magicked, magicking
mosaic, mosaicked, mosaicking
panic, panicked, panicking
physic, physicked, physicking
picnic, picnicked, picnicking
shellac, shellacked, shellacking
traffic, trafficked, trafficking

But then there's

zinc, zinced or zincked, zincing or zincking

"Zinced" looks like it should be pronounced "zinsed",
rhyming with "convinced".

"Medevac" has the alternative spelling "medivac", and they
both have alternatives "-ced" and "-cked", resulting in the
following list of tense forms:

medevaced also medivaced or
medevacked or medivacked ;
medevacing also medivacing or
medevacking or medivacking

All of those without the "k" look like they should have the
long vowel, "a" as in "faced" and "facing".

A wild-card search in the _11th Collegiate_ finds only one
word ending in "-cced": "sicced", the command to a dog. It
has

sicced also sicked
siccing also sicking

The verb "specked" meaning "applied a specification" is not
unheard of: Google finds some hits on it. "Specked" has,
of course, a completely different additional sense, but some
of the Google hits are for the sense we're discussing.

A couple of examples:

( http://tinyurl.com/9hrbd )
Check with the printer and find out how the job
was specked (the specification used).

( http://tinyurl.com/bmvcy )
They ultimately specked the unit by stating the
size and length of the lint allowed.

If I ever have occasion to write the past tense of "spec",
which now seems quite unlikely, I will write "specked".

[Stewart Gordon]

Bob Cunningham wrote:
<snip>

Post by Bob Cunningham
A wild-card search in the _11th Collegiate_ finds only one
word ending in "-cced": "sicced", the command to a dog. It
has

<snip>

Few OneLook hits seem to list that meaning, though quite a handful give
the seemingly related meaning of 'incite to attack'. I wonder what's
special about dogs that warranted the invention of that word.

Just thinking about the whole issue, does anybody know why "soccer" is
so spelled/pronounced?

Stewart.

[Mike Lyle]

Post by Stewart Gordon
<snip>

Post by Bob Cunningham
A wild-card search in the _11th Collegiate_ finds only one
word ending in "-cced": "sicced", the command to a dog. It
has

<snip>
Few OneLook hits seem to list that meaning, though quite a handful
give the seemingly related meaning of 'incite to attack'. I wonder
what's special about dogs that warranted the invention of that

word.

It's a form of "Seek!" Or so I have always thought. "Go seek 'em!"
"Go sick 'em!", or just plain "Seek!"

Post by Stewart Gordon
Just thinking about the whole issue, does anybody know why "soccer" is
so spelled/pronounced?

Spelled that way to force the hard "c" and short "o" pronunciation:
OED1 regards "socker" as the more regular form -- quaint, but shows
which way the wind blew. The abbreviation "soc" for "society" is
still always pronounced "sock" rather than "soss", and I suppose the
analogue must be true of "assoc".

Many of those who needed to use the word early on would have had
_socer_ in their Latin lessons, and probably pronounced it with the
barbaric soft "c", so a distinction would have been useful.

[Don Aitken]

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:03:15 +0000, Stewart Gordon

Post by Stewart Gordon
<snip>

Post by Bob Cunningham
A wild-card search in the _11th Collegiate_ finds only one
word ending in "-cced": "sicced", the command to a dog. It
has

<snip>
Few OneLook hits seem to list that meaning, though quite a handful give
the seemingly related meaning of 'incite to attack'. I wonder what's
special about dogs that warranted the invention of that word.
Just thinking about the whole issue, does anybody know why "soccer" is
so spelled/pronounced?

It is an abbreviation of "association", and was coined at Oxford in
the late 19th century, along with "rugger" for Rugby football. It was
part of an undergraduate vogue for creating words with the "er"
ending, the sillier the better. A waste paper basket was a wagger
pagger bagger, for instance. I believe that one even has an OED entry.
Sporting competitions for which cups are awarded are still "cuppers"
ar both Oxford and Cambridge.