speciality
/ˌspɛʃɪˈalɪti
/(chiefly North American & Medicine also specialty)
noun (plural specialities)
1A pursuit, area of study, or skill to which someone has devoted much time and effort and in which they are expert: his speciality was watercolours...
- Such thinkers rarely wish to venture outside their speciality, and rarely wish to comment on large-scale issues.
- New workers were and still are assigned randomly to different specialities.
- ‘Ice wine’ is a speciality of these parts.
Synonyms
forte, strong point, strength, métier, long suit, strong suit, talent, skill, bent, gift, claim to fame, department, pièce de résistance
informal bag, thing, cup of tea
1.1A product, especially a type of food, which a person or region is famous for making well: a restaurant serving freshly made local specialities...
- In several countries, nuns are recognized as making excellent pastries; many convents produce sought-after specialities.
- One of the company's key concerns is the promotion of regional specialities that are in danger of extinction.
- Local specialities include pasta stuffed with rice and spinach.
1.2 [as modifier] Meeting particular tastes or needs: speciality potatoes for salads...
- You can buy small bottles of aromatic oils from speciality shops.
- Ryan sources most of the stock, travelling to food fairs and meeting speciality food companies.
- West End theatres used to run revues or present speciality acts like an American singer surrounded by dancers and back-up acts.
2 (often specialty) A branch of medicine or surgery.His specialty is oncology - working with children with cancer....
- My specialty is immunology, and I was involved in some of the early descriptions of AIDS.
- Orthodontics, the oldest speciality in dentistry, enhances the appearance and health of one's teeth.
Synonyms
area of specialization, specialty, field of study, area, branch of knowledge, medical/surgical field
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting the quality of being special or distinctive): from Old French especialite or late Latin specialitas, from Latin specialis (see special).