Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

specie

1 American  
[spee-shee, -see] / ˈspi ʃi, -si /

noun

Nonstandard.

  1. species.

specie 2 American  
[spee-shee, -see] / ˈspi ʃi, -si /

noun

  1. coined money; coin.

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.

specie British  
/ ˈspiːʃiː /

noun

  1. coin money, as distinguished from bullion or paper money

    1. (of money) in coin

    2. in kind

    3. law in the actual form specified

"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

Etymology

Origin of specie1

By back formation, construing species as plural noun

Origin of specie1

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin (in) speciē “(in) kind”; species

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.

Until recently, the only non-human species of mammals that were known to experience menopause were a select few specie, such as orcas — not primates.

From Salon

His arguments were pointed with specie—we doing the punctuation—and with a little bargaining he told us what he knew.

From Literature

The new specie is called Homo luzonensis after the main northern island of Luzon, where the remains were dug up starting in 2007.

From Seattle Times

Your merchant ships should go out loaded with attractive goods and came back overflowing with shiny specie.

From Washington Post

Entanglement, one of the specie's biggest threats, could also be causing females an undue amount of stress.

From National Geographic

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.