specimen

[ spes-uh-muhn ]

/ ˈspɛs ə mən /

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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.

Nearby words

specifically, specification, specificity, specifics, specify, specimen, specimen plant, speciosity, specious, specious present, speciously

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 FOR specimen

1 type, model, pattern.

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Synonym study

1. See example.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for specimen

That gave participants an opportunity to try taxidermy without skinning the specimen, which some people find hard to stomach.
Edible Taxidermy: It’s a Good Thing|Lizzie Crocker|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The lab report came back showing the specimen was some kind of rotten meat.
Egypt Revolt: American Dreams of Cairo|Kareem Saleh|January 31, 2011|DAILY BEAST
One day during his office hours, a female student asked him if he would agree to have a specimen studied in his laboratory.
Egypt Revolt: American Dreams of Cairo|Kareem Saleh|January 31, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Officials there quickly handed over the specimen to Dutch authorities who have assumed investigative responsibility in this case.
Natalee Holloway: Is the Bone in Aruba Hers?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry the VIII, is a specimen of speculation, admiration, and everything in between.
This Week's Hot Reads|The Daily Beast|December 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In this second specimen the whole internal surface of the posterior cavity likewise differs to a certain extent in shape.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I.|Charles Darwin
Our party made this specimen "hump himself," as the conductor said.
Roughing It|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
A specimen of each of the several species of bones now to be found, is to me the most desirable objects in natural history.
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. I (of 9)|Thomas Jefferson
It bears in my specimen of this age four fin-rays at its extremity, the anterior not being well marked.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
The accompanying cut represents in part the head of a flea, and is annexed in order to give a specimen of a simple eye.
The Life of an Insect|Anonymous

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

specimen

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of specimen

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for specimen

British Dictionary definitions for specimen

specimen

noun

Word Origin for specimen

Medicine definitions for specimen

specimen

n.