specie

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspiːʃi/, /ˈspiːsi/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -iːʃi, -iːsi
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈspiːʃiː/, /ˈspiːʃi.iː/

Etymology 1

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

• nonspecie
• specie point

Related terms

• sub specie aeterni

Translations

classification

• Esperanto: specio (eo), speco (eo)

money

• Bulgarian: монети (bg) f pl (moneti)
• Catalan: espècie (ca) f
• Danish: specie c
• Finnish: raha (fi)
• Manx: argid meainey m

See also

• payment in kind

Etymology 2

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

Noun

specie (plural species)

1. (hypercorrect) singular of species

Usage notes

• Although in wide use, this is universally considered by prescriptive references to be an error.

Anagrams

• pieces

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch specie (“kind, sort”, 14th c.), borrowed from Latin speciēs. The sense “mortar” also appears in spijs, Middle Dutch spise (literally “food”), and it is not clear which of the two words developed it first; compare German Speis, Maurerspeise.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspeː.si/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: spe‧cie
• Rhymes: -eːsi

Noun

specie f (plural speciën or species, no diminutive)

1. mortar (mixture of lime or cement, sand and water)

   Synonyms: metselspecie, mortel

2. material used in casting
3. coinage, specie, coins

Derived terms

• metselspecie

Descendants

• → Indonesian: spesi

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin speciēs. Doublet of spezie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɛ.t͡ʃe/

• Audio (IT):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtʃe
• Hyphenation: spè‧cie

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.

Noun

specie f (invariable)

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

Derived terms

• fare specie (“to amaze, shock”)

Related terms

• cronospecie
• speciale
• speciazione
• specifico

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈspɛ.ki.eː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈspɛː.t͡ʃi.e]

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^[2], 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

• IPA^(key): /ˈspe.t͡ʃi.e/

Noun

specie f (plural specii)

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

See also

• gen
• tip
• fel

Further reading

• “specie”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026