1.
[syn: particular, specific]
2. a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease;
- Example: "quinine is a specific for malaria"
ADJECTIVE (4)
1. (sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique;
- Example: "rules with specific application"
- Example: "demands specific to the job"
- Example: "a specific and detailed account of the accident"
2. stated explicitly or in detail;
- Example: "needed a specific amount"
3. relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic species;
- Example: "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;
- Example: "quinine is highly specific for malaria"
- Example: "a specific remedy"
- Example: "a specific stain is one having a specific affinity for particular structural elements"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
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"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
107 Moby Thesaurus words for "specific":
absolute, aid, alterative, analeptic, assistance, balm, balsam,
categorical, certain, characteristic, circumscribed, circumscript,
classificational, classificatory, clean-cut, clear-cut, concrete,
corrective, cure, defined, defining, definite, definitive,
delimited, demarcated, denominative, detailed, determinate,
determined, different, differential, distinct, distinctive,
distinguished, divisional, divisionary, encircled, esoteric,
especial, established, exact, exceptional, explicit, express,
extraordinary, finicky, fixed, full, fussy, healing agent,
healing quality, hedged about, help, indicated, individual, inner,
intimate, limited, meticulous, minute, nice, noteworthy, ordinal,
particular, peculiar, personal, picayune, precise, predetermined,
prescription, private, proper to, receipt, recipe, relief,
remedial measure, remedy, reserved, respective, restorative,
restricted, set, several, singular, solipsistic, sovereign remedy,
special, specialized, specific remedy, specified, stated,
subdivisional, succor, sui generis, surrounded, taxonomic,
the concrete, the individual, the particular, the special,
the specific, the unique, typal, typical, unambiguous, unequivocal,
well-defined