SPECIES


Meaning of SPECIES in English

[ 'spi:ʃi:z , -ʃɪz , 'spi:s- ]

■ noun ( plural same)

1》 Biology a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or of interbreeding, considered as the basic unit of taxonomy and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g. Homo sapiens .

2》 a kind or sort.

3》 Christian Church the visible form of each of the elements of consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist.

Origin

ME: from L., lit. 'appearance, form, beauty', from specere 'to look'.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.