specie
Pluralspecies (some meanings)
- 1Coins made from valuable metal like gold or silver, used as money.
Like paying with real gold coins instead of a paper note that promises gold.
The bank paid out the soldiers' wages in gold specie.
During the panic, people rushed to trade their paper notes for specie.
Oppositepaper
Note
- 2Kind or type, found in the phrase 'in specie,' meaning in the real thing rather than cash.
Like giving someone the actual toy instead of money to buy one.
The will directed that the estate be distributed in specie, so each heir received actual shares rather than cash.
The company chose to pay the dividend in specie, handing investors property instead of money.
Similarkind
Note
- 3Singular of species. Many people think this form is wrong. Most writers use species for one kind too.
"What specie of snake is that?" Leo asked at the zoo.
My aunt posted online that some strange specie of moth was eating her sweaters.
Note
Practice
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Origins
It first appeared in the phrase 'in specie', from the Latin word 'speciē', a form of 'species'.
It came from the word 'species', when people wrongly thought the final 's' was a plural ending.