specific name

[ spi-sif-ik neym ]

nounZoology.
  1. (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.

Origin of specific name

1
First recorded in 1750–55

Words Nearby specific name

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use specific name in a sentence

  • Inornata is a very appropriate specific name for this tiny earth-brown bird, which is devoid of all kind of ornamentation.

  • So peculiar is it, that in Peru the ‘Colour de vicuña’ (vicuña colour) has become a specific name.

    The Hunters' Feast | Mayne Reid
  • This cochineal lives by preference (at least, so it is supposed) on the evergreen oak (Quercus ilex), whence its specific name.

    The Insect World | Louis Figuier