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specie1

[spee-shee, -see]
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noun
  1. coined money; coin.
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Idioms
  1. in specie,
    1. in the same kind.
    2. (of money) in coin.
    3. in a similar manner; in kind: Such treachery should be repaid in specie.
    4. Law.in the identical shape, form, etc., as specified.
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Origin of specie1

1545–55; < Latin (in) speciē (in) kind; see species
Can be confusedspecie species specious

specie2

[spee-shee, -see]
noun Nonstandard.
  1. species.
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Origin of specie2

by back formation, construing species as plural noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

salary, wage, wealth, pay, bill, cash, payment, fund, capital, property, check, wad, gold, dough, treasure, finances, resources, gravy, funds, bankroll

Examples from the Web for specie

Historical Examples

  • Specie payments were suspended, and business was all but paralyzed.

    The Story of the Upper Canada Rebellion, Volume 1

    John Charles Dent

  • There is three hundred pounds sent at present, mostly in specie.

  • It seems that they've had a deal of trouble to get the amount in specie.

  • For us to pay a foreigner with specie is like paying him with coffee.

  • This amount was remitted, in the twelve months preceding the war, in specie.

    Albert Gallatin

    John Austin Stevens

British Dictionary definitions for specie

specie

noun
  1. coin money, as distinguished from bullion or paper money
  2. in specie
    1. (of money) in coin
    2. in kind
    3. lawin the actual form specified
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Word Origin

C16: from the Latin phrase in speciē in kind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for specie

n.

1610s, "coin, money in the form of coins" (as opposed to paper money or bullion), from phrase in specie "in the real or actual form" (1550s), from Latin in specie "in kind," ablative of species "kind, form, sort" (see species).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper