<HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: specific - spectacle</TITLE></HEAD>
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<A NAME="specific">
<B>specific, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>definite; precise; particular. <BR> <I>Ex. a specific command or request, a specific sum of money. There was no specific reason for the quarrel. When you describe something, be specific.</I> (SYN) explicit. <DD><B> 2. </B>specially belonging to a thing or group of things; characteristic (of); peculiar (to). <BR> <I>Ex. A scaly skin is a specific feature of snakes. Feathers are a feature specific to birds.</I> (SYN) distinctive. <DD><B> 3a. </B>preventing or curing a particular disease. <BR> <I>Ex. a specific remedy.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>produced by a special cause or infection. <BR> <I>Ex. a specific disease.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>of, having to do with, or characteristic of a species. <BR> <I>Ex. the specific name of a plant.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>any specific statement, quality, or subject. <BR> <I>Ex. He still doesn't know specifics on all issues, but his general knowledge is sharpening and his instincts are surer (Birmingham Post-Herald).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a cure for some particular disease; specific remedy. <BR> <I>Ex. Quinine is a specific for malaria. Vitamin B-12 is a specific for pernicious anemia.</I> noun <B>specificness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="specifically">
<B>specifically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a specific manner; definitely; particularly. <BR> <I>Ex. The doctor told her specifically not to eat eggs.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="specification">
<B>specification, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of specifying; definite mention; detailed statement of particulars. <BR> <I>Ex. She made careful specification as to the kinds of cake and candy needed for her party.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>Often, <B>specifications.</B> <DD><B> a. </B>a detailed description of the dimensions, materials, or quantities, for a building, road, dam, boat, or like thing to be made or constructed. <DD><B> b. </B>the document containing this. <DD><B> 3. </B>something specified; particular article, item, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. statements unsupported by specifications.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a description or definition according to specific or particular characters. </DL>
<A NAME="specificduty">
<B>specific duty,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a duty or tariff on a certain kind of article or on a given quantity of an article, without reference to its value or market price. </DL>
<A NAME="specificgravity">
<B>specific gravity,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the ratio of the weight or mass of a given volume of any substance to that of an equal volume of some other substance taken as a standard, usually water at 4 degrees centigrade for solids and liquids, and hydrogen or air for gases. The specific gravity of gold is 19 because any volume of gold weighs 19 times as much as the same volume of water. A hydrometer is often used to find the specific gravity of a liquid. (Abbr:) sp.gr. </DL>
<A NAME="specificheat">
<B>specific heat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Physics.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the number of calories of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a given substance one degree centigrade. <DD><B> 2. </B>the ratio of the amount of heat required to raise a unit mass of a substance one degree in temperature to that required to raise the same mass of some other substance, taken as a standard, one degree. </DL>
<A NAME="specificimpulse">
<B>specific impulse,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the thrust in pounds of a rocket motor or engine produced by burning one pound of a specified fuel with its oxidizer in one second. </DL>
<A NAME="specificity">
<B>specificity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> specific quality: <DD><B> a. </B>the quality of having specific character or relation. <BR> <I>Ex. There has always been a certain lack of specificity about these fears; people have been bothered ... without being able to say precisely why (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the quality of being specific in operation or effect. <BR> <I>Ex. It is also known that the protein coat determines the specificity of the virus, i.e., whether or not it will attack a certain bacterium (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="specifier">
<B>specifier, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who specifies. </DL>
<A NAME="specify">
<B>specify, </B>transitive verb, <B>-fied,</B> <B>-fying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to mention or name definitely; state or describe in detail. <BR> <I>Ex. Did you specify any particular time for us to call? He delivered the paper as specified.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to include in the specifications. <BR> <I>Ex. The contractor couldn't use shingles for the roof because slate was specified.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to give as a condition or requisite. <BR> <I>Ex. Punctuality was specified as the first requisite for the situation.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="specimen">
<B>specimen, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>one of a group or class taken to show what the others are like; single part or thing regarded as an example of its kind; sample. <BR> <I>Ex. He collects specimens of all kinds of rocks and minerals. The statue is a fine specimen of Greek sculpture.</I> <DL COMPACT><DD> (Abbr:) sp. (SYN) instance. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) a human being; person. <BR> <I>Ex. The tramp was a shabby specimen.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> taken or regarded as a specimen; typical. <BR> <I>Ex. a strong desire to see something more of Christendom than a specimen whaler or two (Herman Melville).</I> (SYN) representative. </DL>
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<A NAME="specimenplant">
<B>specimen plant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a plant set out by itself and cultivated for its ornamental effect. </DL>
<A NAME="speciosity">
<B>speciosity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the quality of being specious; speciousness. <BR> <I>Ex. Speciosity ... usurps the place of reality ...; instead of performance, there is appearance of performance (Thomas Carlyle).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a specious act, appearance, remark, etc. </DL>
<A NAME="specious">
<B>specious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>seeming desirable, reasonable, or probable, but not really so; apparently good or right, but without real merit. <BR> <I>Ex. a specious appearance of fair play. The teacher saw through that specious excuse. This specious reasoning is nevertheless false (Thomas Hobbes).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>making a good outward appearance in order to deceive. <BR> <I>Ex. a specious friendship, a specious flatterer.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) showy; beautiful; lovely. adv. <B>speciously.</B> noun <B>speciousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="speck">
<B>speck, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a small spot or mark; stain. <BR> <I>Ex. Can you clean the specks off this wallpaper? In beauty faults conspicuous grow, The smallest speck is seen on snow (John Gay).</I> (SYN) speckle. <DD><B> 2. </B>a tiny bit; particle. <BR> <I>Ex. a speck of dust, to have a speck in one's eye. (Figurative.) He has not a speck of humor or of sense.</I> (SYN) mite. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to mark with or as if with specks. <BR> <I>Ex. This fruit is badly specked.</I> adj. <B>speckless.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="speckle">
<B>speckle, </B>noun, verb, <B>-led,</B> <B>-ling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a small spot or mark; speck. <BR> <I>Ex. This hen is gray with white speckles.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to mark with or as if with speckles. <BR> <I>Ex. The dog is speckled with paint. That boy is speckled with freckles.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="speckledalder">
<B>speckled alder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the common North American species of alder, growing from Hudson Bay south to Maryland and west to the Dakotas. </DL>
<A NAME="speckledtrout">
<B>speckled trout,</B> <B>=brook trout.</B></DL>
<A NAME="speckledwood">
<B>speckled wood,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> wood having speckled or mottled markings, as: <DD><B> a. </B><B>=letterwood.</B> <DD><B> b. </B>palmyra wood when cut transversely into veneers. </DL>
<B>spectacle, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a thing to look at; sight; something presented to the view as noteworthy or striking. <BR> <I>Ex. the spectacle of a storm at sea. The children at play among the flowers made a charming spectacle. A quarrel is an unpleasant spectacle.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a public show or display. <BR> <I>Ex. The parade was the crowning spectacle of the day.</I> (SYN) exhibition, parade, pageant. <DD><B> 3. </B>a person or thing set before the public view as an object of curiosity, contempt, wonder, or admiration. <BR><I>expr. <B>make a spectacle of oneself,</B> </I>to behave in public view in such a manner as to become an object of curiosity, contempt, or wonder. <BR> <I>Ex. She was greatly embarrassed when her partner made a spectacle of himself on the dance floor.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>spectacles,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>a pair of glasses to help a person's sight or protect his eyes; eyeglasses. </I> <I>Ex. Spectacles and reading glasses are among the simplest and most useful of optical instruments (David Brewster).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) a means or medium through which anything is viewed or regarded; point of view. <BR> <I>Ex. Subjects are to look upon the faults of princes with the spectacles of obedience and reverence (John Donne).</I> <DD><B> c. </B>anything like spectacles, such as the device attached to a railway semaphore for displaying lights of different colors by means of colored glass, or the pattern of contrasting scales on the hood of a cobra. <BR> <I>Ex. ... two varieties of cobra, one with the spectacles and the other without them (E. M. Gordon).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spectacled">
<B>spectacled, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>provided with or wearing spectacles. <BR> <I>Ex. a scholar spectacled and slippered (Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having markings resembling spectacles. <BR> <I>Ex. the spectacled cobra.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spectacledbear">
<B>spectacled bear,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small black bear of the Andes, having white markings around the eyes that look like spectacles. </DL>
<A NAME="spectacledsnake">
<B>spectacled snake,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the cobra of India that commonly has a black and white marking like spectacles on the back of the hood; Indian cobra. </DL>
<A NAME="spectacledwarbler">
<B>spectacled warbler,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small European warbler resembling the whitethroat, with straw-colored legs and white markings around the eyes. </DL>
