specie: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowFormal, Historical, Economic
Quick answer
What does “specie” mean?
Coins or other forms of money made from precious metal, especially gold or silver, as opposed to paper money.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Coins or other forms of money made from precious metal, especially gold or silver, as opposed to paper money.
In historical or economic contexts, refers to money in a tangible, metallic form. In modern usage, it is often a mistaken singular form of 'species'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. The word is equally rare and formal in both varieties.
Connotations
Historical, financial, archaic.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in both corpora, primarily found in historical or specialised economic texts.
Grammar
How to Use “specie” in a Sentence
Payment was made in specie.The bank held a large reserve of specie.Vocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare, used in historical finance contexts (e.g., 'specie payments were suspended during the crisis').
Academic
Found in economic history texts discussing monetary systems.
Everyday
Virtually never used; commonly mistaken for 'species'.
Technical
Used in numismatics (coin collecting) and certain legal/financial documents.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “specie”
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “specie”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “specie”
- Using 'specie' as the singular of 'species' (e.g., 'a rare specie of bird' – INCORRECT).
- Confusing 'specie' with 'species' in pronunciation and spelling.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is not. 'Species' is the same in both singular and plural. 'Specie' is a separate word referring to coinage.
It is rarely used outside of historical texts, economics, numismatics (coin collecting), and the legal/financial phrase 'in specie'.
It means payment made in the actual, specified form (e.g., in gold coins, in goods, or in kind), rather than in an equivalent cash value.
Because they look and sound very similar. 'Species' is a common word, while 'specie' is rare, so people often mistakenly apply regular plural rules ('specie' -> 'species').
Coins or other forms of money made from precious metal, especially gold or silver, as opposed to paper money.
Specie is usually formal, historical, economic in register.
Specie: in British English it is pronounced /ˈspiːʃiː/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈspiːʃi/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “in specie (payment in kind, not in cash)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think 'SPECIal mEtal' – specie is special because it's money made from actual metal.
Conceptual Metaphor
MONEY IS A SOLID, TANGIBLE OBJECT (contrasted with paper money as less substantial).
Practice
Quiz
What is the correct meaning of 'specie'?