See Also: SPECIMEN(law)
specimen(dictionary)
specimen(medicine)
specimen(dictionary)
Specimen(health)
specimen stage(medicine)
specimen screen(medicine)
specimen interaction(medicine)
specimen holder(medicine)
specimen handling(medicine)

specimen (iou)



specimen noun & adjective. E17.
[Latin, from specere look (at).]
A. noun.
A pattern, a model. Only in 17.
A single thing or part taken as an example of a class or as representative of the whole. M17.
O. Henry His wardrobe represented the..specimens of half a dozen fashions. Raritan I take this..piece of irony as a specimen of religious awe.
spec. An individual animal or plant, a piece of a mineral, etc., taken for scientific study or display; Medicine a small quantity of blood, urine, tissue, etc., taken for scientific analysis; ellipt. (Medicine) a specimen of urine. L17.
H. James Glass cases containing specimens of butterflies. B. Bainbridge Going into a..cubicle to provide a cloudy specimen. P. Carey He was a naturalist..and..would collect specimens.
A person as an example of or of a certain quality or of the human race; (colloq., freq. derog.) a person of a specified sort. E19.
P. H. Gibbs Seeing some remarkable..specimen of mankind. I. Watson The two men..were less savoury specimens.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Serving as or intended for a specimen. M19.
Comb. & special collocations: specimen-book a book of specimens or samples; specimen-box a portable box for carrying botanical etc. specimens; specimen page: submitted by a printer as a sample setting for a book etc.; specimen shrub, specimen tree, etc.: planted on its own, away from other plants of a similar size.