espécie

Forms

espécie f (plural espécies)^[1] The medieval forms are especia and specia in the 13th century and specie in the 14th.^[2] Wiktionary also lists espécia.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin speciēs (“sight, appearance; kind”).^[2][1] Nascentes calls it semi-learned.^[3] The earliest forms, Old Galician-Portuguese especia and Old Galician-Portuguese specia, had the late sense “merchandise, spice” that Houaiss reports from Machado for late Latin; the modern form and sense follow the classical word.^[2][4]

The same Latin word is Spanish especie, Catalan espècie, French espèce and Italian specie, and in its sense “spice” Spanish especia and French épice.^[5][6][1]

The Latin noun is formed on speciō (“to see, observe”) with the suffix -iēs.^[7][1] Its philosophical sense “a subdivision of a genus” translated Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to the 13th century, as especia and specia.^[2] The Cantigas de Santa Maria use the plural for spices from overseas: specias d'Ultramar, especias e cominnos “spices and cumin”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The sense “spice” passed to the derivative especiaria, and espécie kept the classical senses.^[2][10] Bluteau (1712–1728) treats it as a term of logic, the notion placed immediately under the genus.^[11] Morais (1789) defines it in philosophy as a class of individuals that share an attribute, “men form one species, oxen another”, and also as “sort, manner”.^[12] In theology the espécies are the appearances of bread and wine after the consecration, the one sense of “appearance” Vieira (1871–1874) still finds in use.^[13][2]

Figueiredo (1899) adds the senses “goods given in payment”, “money” and “a sweet of ground almonds”.^[14] The biological sense, the taxonomic rank below the genus, is the main scientific use today.^[2][15]

Timeline

• 1200s – first records, spelt especia and specia.^[2]
• 1300s – the spelling specie.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as a term of logic.^[11]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as a class of individuals.^[12]
• 1899 – Figueiredo lists the senses “money” and “goods given in payment”.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shared feature by which beings or things are grouped; kind, nature, quality.^[2][10][16]
2. A sort, type; something that resembles another thing: uma espécie de casaco.^[2][10][1]
3. Condition, class or social origin: gente de toda a espécie.^[2][10]
4. (biology) The taxonomic rank below the genus, whose members can interbreed; a species.^[2][15][1]
5. (logic) A class of individuals forming a subdivision of a genus.^[2][17]
6. (theology, in the plural) The appearances of bread and wine after transubstantiation.^[2]
7. (pharmacy) A mixture of dried plants used in preparations.^[2][17]
8. (cooking) Spice; especiaria.^[2][15]
9. (in the plural) Cash, coin.^[2]

Word family

• especiaria

Related words

• especial
• específico
• especificar
• espectro
• Latin speciēs
• Spanish especie
• French espèce

Usage notes

Fazer espécie means “to cause surprise or suspicion”.^[17][1] Em espécie means “in cash” or “in kind”.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. espécie
3. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. espécie
4. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. species
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 8131
6. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. especie
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. speciō
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. espèce
9. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. especia
10. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. espécie
11. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. espécie
12. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 47
13. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 3, 327
14. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 551
15. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 3874
16. ^ Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. espécie
17. ^ a b c Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. espécie