Word.ws English Dictionary

in specie

in specie adverb: in respect to kind.

Adverb

in specie (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) In respect to kind
    • Although the power of a king is lesser in degree than an emperor, it is the similar in specie.
  2. In the actual form, especially in the context of a distribution of assets or a loan repayment.
  3. In coin or monetary metal, in contrast to fiat currency or other paper.
    • "The estate of £500 a-year I have given to you, Mr Jones: and as I know the inconvenience which attends the want of ready money, I have added £1000 in specie."1749, Henry Fielding, chapter VII, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book V

Origin of in specie

Borrowed from Latin in + specie, ablative singular form of species (“kind, form; type”).

Questions about in specie

What does in specie mean?
In specie means in respect to kind.
What part of speech is in specie?
In specie is an adverb.

Words near in specie in the dictionary

  1. in something's way
  2. in sooth
  3. in sort
  4. in spades
  5. in special
  6. in specie
  7. in spirit
  8. in spite of
  9. in spite of oneself
  10. in spite of someone's teeth
  11. in splendor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in specie (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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