Main Entry: ¹spe·cies

Pronunciation: \ˈspē-(ˌ)shēz, -(ˌ)sēz\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): 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