specimen
[ spes-uh-muhn ]
/ ˈspɛs ə mən /
noun
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.
QUIZZES
DON’T VACILLATE! VANQUISH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
It’d be a real faux pas to miss this quiz on the words from August 3–9, 2020!
Question 1 of 7
What does “vacillate” mean?
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
synonym study for specimen
1. See example.
Words nearby specimen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for specimen
British Dictionary definitions for specimen
specimen
/ (ˈspɛsɪmɪn) /
noun
- 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
Word Origin for specimen
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for specimen
specimen
[ spĕs′ə-mən ]
n.
A sample, as of tissue, blood, or urine, used for analysis and diagnosis.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.