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specific name

[ spi-sif-ik neym ]
/ spɪˈsɪf ɪk ˈneɪm /

noun Zoology.

(in binomial nomenclature) the second part, always lowercased, of an animal species’ scientific name, but not applicable to plant species: for example, the species Sciurus carolinensis is a squirrel, as all squirrels belong to the genus Sciurus, but it is the specific name carolinensis that identifies the particular species, which is the eastern gray squirrel.

Content related to specific name

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Tuesday Is Named For A One-handed God Named TiwYes, it’s true, there’s a wild story behind the god who lends his name to Tuesday. Tiw’s remarkable myth involves women with beards (more on that in a bit). Regardless, the past 1,000 years or so have not been kind to this Northern European divinity. Who is Tuesday named for? To make a long story short, it seems that Tiw used to be a big shot, …
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Words nearby specific name

specific heat capacity, specific humidity, specific immune globulin, specific immunity, specific impulse, specific name, specific opsonin, specific parasite, specific performance, specific reaction, specific resistance

Origin of specific name

First recorded in 1750–55
Also called specific epithet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019