specimen
[spes-uh-muh n]
- a part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number; a typical animal, plant, mineral, part, etc.
- (in medicine, microbiology, etc.) a sample of a substance or material for examination or study: a urine specimen; a tissue specimen.
- a particular or peculiar kind of person.
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Origin of specimen
1600–10; < Latin: mark, example, indication, sign, equivalent to speci-, stem of specere to look, regard + -men noun suffix denoting result or means
Synonyms
See more synonyms for specimen on Thesaurus.com1. type, model, pattern.
Synonym study
1. See example.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for specimen
Contemporary Examples
That gave participants an opportunity to try taxidermy without skinning the specimen, which some people find hard to stomach.
The lab report came back showing the specimen was some kind of rotten meat.
One day during his office hours, a female student asked him if he would agree to have a specimen studied in his laboratory.
Officials there quickly handed over the specimen to Dutch authorities who have assumed investigative responsibility in this case.
Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry the VIII, is a specimen of speculation, admiration, and everything in between.
Historical Examples
I had no means of preserving a specimen, but I took a drawing of one.
But we have here a specimen of the inevitable consequence of sin.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IFrancis Augustus Cox
Here is a specimen of his graceful blending of irony and humor.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
He repaid Hopper with a specimen of his tongue, and flung the writ back at him.
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
What do you think of him, sir, for a specimen of the Dotheboys Hall feeding?
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas NicklebyCharles Dickens
specimen
- an individual, object, or part regarded as typical of the group or class to which it belongs
- (as modifier)a specimen signature; a specimen page
- med a sample of tissue, blood, urine, etc, taken for diagnostic examination or evaluation
- the whole or a part of an organism, plant, rock, etc, collected and preserved as an example of its class, species, etc
- informal, often derogatory a person
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin: mark, evidence, proof, from specere to look at
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for specimen
n.
1610s, "pattern, model," from Latin specimen "indication, mark, example, sign, evidence," from specere "to look at" (see scope (n.1)). Meaning "single thing regarded as typical of its kind" first recorded 1650s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
specimen
(spĕs′ə-mən)- A sample, as of tissue, blood, or urine, used for analysis and diagnosis.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.