species

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spe·cies / ˈspēsēz; -shēz/ • n. (pl. same) 1. (abbr.: sp., spp.) Biol. a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g., Homo sapiens. ∎  Logic a group subordinate to a genus and containing individuals agreeing in some common attributes and called by a common name. ∎  a kind or sort: a species of invective at once tough and suave. ∎  used humorously to refer to people who share a characteristic or occupation: a political species that is becoming more common, the environmental statesman. ∎  Chem. & Physics a particular kind of atom, molecule, ion, or particle: a new molecular species.2. Christian Church the visible form of each of the elements of consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist.ORIGIN: late Middle English: from Latin, literally ‘appearance, form, beauty,’ from specere ‘to look.’

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