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specie

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Originally in the phrase in specie; from Latin speciē, ablative singular of species. Compare payment in kind.

Noun

specie (uncountable)

  1. Type or kind, in various uses of the phrase in specie.
  2. Money in the form of coins made from precious metal that has an intrinsic value; coinage.
    Antonym: paper
    • 1830, Joseph Plumb Martin, “Ch. IX”, in A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier:
      I received one month's pay in specie while on the march to Virginia, in the year 1781, and except that, I never received any pay worth the name while I belonged to the army.
    • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 805:
      ‘It was not money or specie he thought himself hunting!
    • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 8:
      “Dick” Counterfly had absquatulated swiftly into the night, leaving his son with only a pocketful of specie and the tender admonition, “Got to ‘scram,’ kid — write if you get work.”
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Back-formation from species (plural), the final “s” being misinterpreted as a plural ending.

Noun

specie (plural species)

  1. (proscribed) singular of species
Usage notes
  • Although in wide use, this is universally considered by prescriptive references to be an error.

Anagrams

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin speciēs.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈspeː.si/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: spe‧cie
  • Rhymes: -eːsi

Noun

specie f (plural speciën or species)

  1. mortar (in sense of mixture of lime or cement, sand and water)
    Synonyms: metselspecie, mortel
  2. coinage, specie, coins
  3. material used in casting

Derived terms

  • metselspecie

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin speciēs. Doublet of spezie.

Pronunciation

Adverb

specie

  1. especially, particularly
    Nonostante la sua abilità, Clemens ha avuto poca fama, specie tra i suoi contemporanei.
    Despite his ability, Clemens had little fame, particularly among his contemporaries.

Derived terms

Noun

specie f (invariable)

  1. kind, type, sort
  2. (biology) species, strain, breed
  3. (taxonomy) species
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Latin

Pronunciation

Noun

speciē

  1. ablative singular of speciēs

Preposition

speciē (+ genitive)

  1. under the pretext of; under the guise of

References

  • specie”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) in truth; really: re (vera), reapse (opp. specie)
    • (ambiguous) apparently; to look at: specie (De Amic. 13. 47)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin speciēs.

Pronunciation

Noun

specie f (plural specii)

  1. (biology) species
  2. kind, type, sort

See also

Further reading

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