species

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See also: Species

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Latin speciēs (“appearance; quality”), from speciō (“see”) + -iēs suffix signifying abstract noun. Doublet of spice

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈspiːʃiːz/, /ˈspiːsiːz/. Some speakers pronounce the singular with -ɪz, the plural with -iːz.
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)

Noun[edit]

species (plural species or (rare, nonstandard) specieses)

  1. Type or kind. (Compare race.)
    the male species
    a new species of war
    • 1871, Richard Holt Hutton, Essays, Theological and Literary
      What is called spiritualism should, I think, be called a mental species of materialism.
    • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1965, page 122:
      He went on kissing her with unflagging industry, while she remained limply in his arms, in a species of satisfied trance.
    1. A group of plants or animals having similar appearance.
      This species of animal is unique to the area.
      • 2012 January 1, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 70:
        We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water.
    2. (biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below genus; a taxon at that rank.
      • 1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species:
        Hence, in determining whether a form should be ranked as a species or a variety, the opinion of naturalists having sound judgment and wide experience seems the only guide to follow.
      • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page vii:
        Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants.
      • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
        Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
    3. (mineralogy) A mineral with a unique chemical formula whose crystals belong to a unique crystallographic system.
  2. An image, an appearance, a spectacle.
    1. (obsolete) The image of something cast on a surface, or reflected from a surface, or refracted through a lens or telescope; a reflection.
      I cast the species of the Sun onto a sheet of paper through a telescope.
    2. Visible or perceptible presentation; appearance; something perceived.
    3. A public spectacle or exhibition.
      (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  3. (Christianity) Either of the two elements of the Eucharist after they have been consecrated.
  4. Coin, or coined silver, gold, or other metal, used as a circulating medium; specie.
    • 1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures
      There was, in the splendour of the Roman empire, a less quantity of current species in Europe than there is now.
  5. A component part of compound medicine; a simple.
  6. An officinal mixture or compound powder of any kind; especially, one used for making an aromatic tea or tisane; a tea mixture.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Thomas de Quincey to this entry?)

Usage notes[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Noun[edit]

species

  1. plural of specie

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

species

  1. Plural form of specie

Synonyms[edit]

Latin[edit]

Latin Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia la

Etymology[edit]

From speciō (“see”) + -iēs suffix signifying abstract noun.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

speciēs f (genitive speciēī); fifth declension

  1. a seeing, view, look
  2. a spectacle, sight
  3. external appearance, looks; general outline or shape
  4. semblance, pretence, pretext, outward show
  5. show, display
  6. (figuratively) vision, dream, apparition
  7. (figuratively) honor, reputation
  8. (figuratively) a kind, quality, type
  9. (law, later) a special case

Declension[edit]

Fifth-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative speciēs speciēs
Genitive speciēī speciērum
Dative speciēī speciēbus
Accusative speciem speciēs
Ablative speciē speciēbus
Vocative speciēs speciēs

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • species in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879
  • species in Charlton T. Lewis, An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1891
  • species in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
  • Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden, Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co., 1894
    • to see something in a dream: in somnis videre aliquid or speciem
    • I saw a vision in my dreams: species mihi dormienti oblata est
    • an ideal: species optima or eximia, specimen, also simply species, forma
    • to have formed an ideal notion of a thing: comprehensam quandam animo speciem (alicuius rei) habere
    • to pass as a man of great learning: magnam doctrinae speciem prae se ferre
    • to analyse a general division into its specific parts: genus universum in species certas partiri et dividere (Or. 33. 117)
    • to have the appearance of something: speciem alicuius rei habere
    • to give the impression of...; have the outward aspect of..: speciem alicuius rei praebere
    • to give the impression of...; have the outward aspect of..: speciem prae se ferre
    • apparently; to look at: in speciem
    • apparently; to look at: per speciem (alicuius rei)
    • (ambiguous) in truth; really: re (vera), reapse (opp. specie)
    • (ambiguous) apparently; to look at: specie (De Amic. 13. 47)
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