specie
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈspiːʃi/, /ˈspiːsi/
- Rhymes: -iːʃi, -iːsi
Etymology 1
Originally in the phrase in specie; from Latin speciē, ablative singular of species. Compare payment in kind.
Noun
specie (uncountable)
- Type or kind, in various uses of the phrase in specie.
- Money, especially in the form of coins made from precious metal, that has an intrinsic value; coinage.
- Antonym: paper
- 1830, Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier, Ch. IX:
- 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, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 805:
- ‘It was not money or specie he thought himself hunting!’
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 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.”
Translations
money
|
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)
- (proscribed) singular of species
Usage notes
- Although in wide use, this is universally considered by prescriptive references to be an error.
Anagrams
- pieces
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)
- mortar (in sense of mixture of lime or cement, sand and water)
- Synonyms: metselspecie, mortel
- coinage, specie, coins
- material used in casting
Derived terms
- metselspecie
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin speciēs.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈspɛ.t͡ʃe/
Audio (IT) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛtʃe
- Hyphenation: spè‧cie
Adverb
specie
- 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
- fare specie (“to amaze, shock”)
Noun
specie f (invariable)
- kind, type, sort
- (biology) species, strain, breed
- (taxonomy) species
Related terms
- cronospecie
- speciale
- speciazione
- specifico
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈspe.ki.eː/, [ˈs̠pɛkieː]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈspe.t͡ʃi.e/, [ˈspɛːt͡ʃie]
Noun
speciē
- ablative singular of speciēs
Preposition
speciē
- 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)
- (ambiguous) in truth; really: re (vera), reapse (opp. specie)
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin speciēs.
Noun
specie f (plural specii)
- (biology) species
- kind, type, sort
See also
- gen
- tip
- fel