specific epithet

[ spi-sif-ik ep-uh-thet ]

noun

, Botany, Zoology.

1. (in binomial nomenclature ) the second part, always lowercased, of a plant or animal species’ scientific name: for example, the species Quercus alba is an oak tree, as all oaks belong to the genus Quercus , but it is the specific epithet alba that identifies the particular species, which is the white oak.

Word History and Origins

Origin of specific epithet¹

First recorded in 1905–10