Result from Foreign Dictionaries (3 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: specific \spe*cif"ic\ (sp[-e]*s[i^]f"[i^]k), a. [F. sp['e]cifique, or NL. spesificus; L. species a particular sort or kind + facere to make. Cf. {specify}.] 1. Of or pertaining to a species; characterizing or constituting a species; possessing the peculiar property or properties of a thing which constitute its species, and distinguish it from other things; as, the specific form of an animal or a plant; the specific qualities of a drug; the specific distinction between virtue and vice. [1913 Webster] Specific difference is that primary attribute which distinguishes each species from one another. --I. Watts. [1913 Webster] 2. Specifying; definite, or making definite; limited; precise; discriminating; as, a specific statement. [1913 Webster] 3. (Med.) Exerting a peculiar influence over any part of the body; preventing or curing disease by a peculiar adaptation, and not on general principles; as, quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria. [1913 Webster] In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster] {Specific character} (Nat. Hist.), a characteristic or characteristics distinguishing one species from every other species of the same genus. {Specific disease} (Med.) (a) A disease which produces a determinate definite effect upon the blood and tissues or upon some special tissue. (b) A disease which is itself uniformly produced by a definite and peculiar poison or organism. {Specific duty}. (Com.) See under {Duty}. {Specific gravity}. (Physics) See under {Gravity}. {Specific heat} (Physics), the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a body one degree, taking as the unit of measure the quantity required to raise the same weight of water from zero to one degree; thus, the specific heat of mercury is 0.033, that of water being 1.000. {Specific inductive capacity} (Physics), the effect of a dielectric body in producing static electric induction as compared with that of some other body or bodies referred to as a standard. {Specific legacy} (Law), a bequest of a particular thing, as of a particular animal or piece of furniture, specified and distinguished from all others. --Wharton. --Burrill. {Specific name} (Nat. Hist.), the name which, appended to the name of the genus, constitutes the distinctive name of the species; -- originally applied by Linnaeus to the essential character of the species, or the essential difference. The present specific name he at first called the {trivial name}. {Specific performance} (Law), the peformance of a contract or agreement as decreed by a court of equity. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Specific \Spe*cif"ic\, n. 1. (Med.) A specific remedy. See {Specific}, a., 3. [1913 Webster] His parents were weak enough to believe that the royal touch was a specific for this malady. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] 2. Anything having peculiar adaption to the purpose to which it is applied. --Dr. H. More. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: specific adj 1: (sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique; "rules with specific application"; "demands specific to the job"; "a specific and detailed account of the accident" [ant: {general}, {nonspecific}] 2: stated explicitly or in detail; "needed a specific amount" 3: relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic species; "specific characters" 4: being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides; "quinine is highly specific for malaria"; "a specific remedy"; "a specific stain is one having a specific affinity for particular structural elements" [ant: {nonspecific}] n 1: a fact about some part (as opposed to general); "he always reasons from the particular to the general" [syn: {particular}, {specific}] [ant: {general}] 2: a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease; "quinine is a specific for malaria"