Specific

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]
            [ant: {general}, {general}]
       2: a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific
          disease; "quinine is a specific for malaria"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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