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specie

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specie¹

  • /ˈspiːʃi/
  • /ˈspiːsi/
  • /ˈspiːʃiː/ obsolete
  • /ˈspiːʃi.iː/ obsolete

Rhymes with -iːʃi, -iːsi

Where it comes from

Originally in the phrase in specie; from Latin speciē, ablative singular of species. Compare in kind.

noun

  1. uncountable Type or kind, in various uses of the phrase in specie.
  2. uncountable Money in the form of coins made from a precious metal that has an intrinsic value; coinage. I received one month's pay in specie while on the march to Virginia, in the year 1781, and except that, I never received any pay worth the name while I belonged to the army.

    Opposite: paper

specie²

  • /ˈspiːʃi/
  • /ˈspiːsi/
  • /ˈspiːʃiː/ obsolete
  • /ˈspiːʃi.iː/ obsolete

Rhymes with -iːʃi, -iːsi

Where it comes from

Back-formation from species (plural), the final “s” being misinterpreted as a plural ending.

noun species

  1. hypercorrect, singular singular of species

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"specie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/specie. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

specie. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/specie

Chicago

"specie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/specie.

BibTeX
@misc{specie_2026,
  title = {specie},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/specie},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}