different between species vs character

English

Etymology

From Latin speci?s (“appearance; quality”), from speci? (“see”) + -i?s suffix signifying abstract noun. Doublet of spice

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?spi??i?z/, /?spi?si?z/. Some speakers pronounce the singular with -?z, the plural with -i?z.

Noun

species (plural species or (rare, nonstandard) specieses)

1. Type or kind. (Compare race.)
   • 1871, Richard Holt Hutton, Essays, Theological and Literary

     What is called spiritualism should, I think, be called a mental species of materialism.
   1. A group of plants or animals having similar appearance.
   2. (biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below genus; a taxon at that rank.
      • 1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species:

        Hence, in determining whether a form should be ranked as a species or a variety, the opinion of naturalists having sound judgment and wide experience seems the only guide to follow.
   3. (chemistry, physics) A particular type of atom, molecule, ion or other particle.
   4. (mineralogy) A mineral with a unique chemical formula whose crystals belong to a unique crystallographic system.
2. An image, an appearance, a spectacle.
   1. (obsolete) The image of something cast on a surface, or reflected from a surface, or refracted through a lens or telescope; a reflection.

   2. Visible or perceptible presentation; appearance; something perceived.

      • Wit, […] the faculty of imagination in the writer, which searches over all the memory for the species or ideas of those things which it designs to represent.

      • the species of the letters illuminated with indigo and violet

   3. A public spectacle or exhibition.

      (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

3. (Christianity) Either of the two elements of the Eucharist after they have been consecrated.
4. Coin, or coined silver, gold, or other metal, used as a circulating medium; specie.
   • 1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures

     There was, in the splendour of the Roman empire, a less quantity of current species in Europe than there is now.

5. A component part of compound medicine; a simple.
6. An officinal mixture or compound powder of any kind; especially, one used for making an aromatic tea or tisane; a tea mixture.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Thomas de Quincey to this entry?)

Usage notes

• species is its own plural; specie is a separate word that means coin money.
• (biology, taxonomy): See species name, binomial nomenclature.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• race
• (taxonomy, rank):
  • domain
  • kingdom
  • phylum/division
  • class
  • order
  • family
  • genus
  • superspecies
  • species
    • subspecies, form
    • (botany, horticulture): variety, cultivar

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “species”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

Noun

species

1. plural of specie

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

species

1. Plural form of specie

Synonyms

• speciën

Latin

Etymology

From speci? (“see”) + -i?s suffix signifying abstract noun.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?spe.ki.e?s/, [?s?p?kie?s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?spe.t??i.es/, [?sp??t??i?s]

Noun

speci?s f (genitive speci??); fifth declension

1. a seeing, view, look
2. a spectacle, sight
3. external appearance, looks; general outline or shape
4. semblance, pretence, pretext, outward show
5. show, display
6. (figuratively) vision, dream, apparition
7. (figuratively) honor, reputation
8. (figuratively) a kind, quality, type
9. (law, later) a special case

Declension

Fifth-declension noun.

Derived terms

• speci?tim

Descendants

References

• species in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• species in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• species in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.

English

Etymology

From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek ???????? (kharakt?r, “type, nature, character”), from ??????? (kharáss?, “I engrave”). Doublet of charakter.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k??(?)kt?/, /?kæ?(?)kt?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kæ??kt?/
• Hyphenation: char?ac?ter

Noun

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

1. (countable) A being involved in the action of a story.
2. (countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.

3. (uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.

   • A man of […] thoroughly subservient character

4. (uncountable) Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.

5. (countable) A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.

6. (countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
   • 1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech

     It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye.

7. (countable, dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
8. (countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
9. (countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
10. (countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.

11. (countable, mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
12. (countable) Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.

13. (countable, dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.

    • This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.

14. (countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
15. (countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

Usage notes

Character is sometimes used interchangeably with reputation, but the two words have different meanings; character describes the distinctive qualities of an individual or group while reputation describes the opinions held by others regarding an individual or group. Character is internal and authentic, while reputation is external and perceived.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Pages starting with “character”.

Translations

Verb

character (third-person singular simple present characters, present participle charactering, simple past and past participle charactered)

1. (obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.

See also

• codepoint
• font
• glyph
• letter
• symbol
• rune
• pictogram

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ???????? (kharakt?r).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /k?a?rak.ter/, [k?ä??äkt??r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ka?rak.ter/, [k????kt??r]

Noun

character m (genitive charact?ris); third declension

1. branding iron
2. brand (made by a branding iron)
3. characteristic, mark, character, style

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Descendants

• Hungarian: karakter
• Galician: caritel; ? carácter
• Irish: carachtar
• Italian: carattere
• Old French: caractere
  • ? English: character
  • French: caractère
• Polish: charakter
  • ? Russian: ????????? (xarákter)
• Portuguese: caractere, carácter
• Sicilian: caràttiri
• Spanish: carácter

References

• character in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• character in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• character in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700?^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Portuguese

Noun

character m (plural characteres)

1. Obsolete spelling of caráter (used in Portugal until September 1911 and died out in Brazil during the 1920s).