in specie
Idioms-
In coin, as in The balance was to be paid only in specie . [First half of 1600s]
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In a similar manner, in kind, as in They repaid the offense in specie . [Mid-1500s] Both usages are derived from the Latin in specie , meaning “in the actual form.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During the War of 1812, the Bank of the United States had suspended payments in specie, “hard money” usually in the form of gold and silver coins.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014
One soldier in the Continental Army, Joseph Plumb Martin, recounted how he received no pay in paper money after 1777 and only one month’s payment in specie, or hard currency, in 1781.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014
And the same is to be understood of the less grave in specie, and the less grave absolutely.
From Discourse on Floating Bodies by Galilei, Galileo
The king, who had taken over the proprietory rights of Arlington and Culpeper, demanded that the quit-rents be paid in specie instead of tobacco.
From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene
But of what value are they to the holder, if he is compelled to pay his debts in specie?
From The Works of Daniel Webster, Volume 1 by Webster, Daniel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
