specify

/ˈspe-sə-ˌfī/

Middle English specifien, from Anglo-French specifier, from Late Latin specificare, from specificus

verb

  1. to name or state explicitly or in detail

  2. to include as an item in a specification

verb

  1. to specify (something) in advance

An analogy might be a car driving on a road. A classical non-adaptive design prespecifies the route the driver must take. There can be no detour.