species

Etymology

From Latin speciēs (“appearance; quality”), from speciō (“see”) + -iēs suffix signifying abstract noun. Doublet of spice.

noun

1. Type or kind. (Compare race.)
   1. A group of plants or animals having similar appearance.
      This species of animal is unique to the area.
      We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. 2012-01, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 70
      Westerlund News Reporter Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani reached out recently to her viewers with a wartime plea for unity and cooperation among all galactic species. UPDATED Her sincerity touched extranet viewers and donations for war relief efforts are pouring in, both to the Alliance and its alien allies. 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: War Assets: Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani
   2. (biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below genus; a taxon at that rank.
      Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3
   3. (chemistry, physics) A particular type of atom, molecule, ion or other particle.
   4. (mineralogy) A mineral with a unique chemical formula whose crystals belong to a unique crystallographic system.
2. An image, an appearance, a spectacle.
   1. (obsolete) The image of something cast on a surface, or reflected from a surface, or refracted through a lens or telescope; a reflection.
      I cast the species of the Sun onto a sheet of paper through a telescope.
   2. Visible or perceptible presentation; appearance; something perceived.
3. (Christianity) Either of the two elements of the Eucharist after they have been consecrated.
4. Coin, or coined silver, gold, or other metal, used as a circulating medium; specie.
   There was, in the splendour of the Roman empire, a less quantity of current species in Europe than there is now. 1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures
5. A component part of compound medicine; a simple.

noun

1. plural of specie