I. ˈspē-(ˌ)shēz, -(ˌ)sēz noun
( plural species )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin, appearance, kind, species, from specere to look — more at spy
Date: 14th century
1.
a. : kind , sort
b. : a class of individuals having common attributes and designated by a common name ; specifically : a logical division of a genus or more comprehensive class
confessing sins in species and in number
c. : the human race : human beings — often used with the
survival of the species in the nuclear age
d.
(1) : a category of biological classification ranking immediately below the genus or subgenus, comprising related organisms or populations potentially capable of interbreeding, and being designated by a binomial that consists of the name of a genus followed by a Latin or latinized uncapitalized noun or adjective agreeing grammatically with the genus name
(2) : an individual or kind belonging to a biological species
e. : a particular kind of atomic nucleus, atom, molecule, or ion
2. : the consecrated eucharistic elements of the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Eucharist
3.
a. : a mental image ; also : a sensible object
b. : an object of thought correlative with a natural object
II. adjective
Date: 1899
: belonging to a biological species as distinguished from a horticultural variety
a species rose