type specimen

noun

: a specimen or individual designated as type of a species or lesser group and serving as the final criterion of the characteristics of that group

Examples of type specimen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Chomicki also discovered the sweet watermelon type specimen was not a sweet watermelon. Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Nov. 2022 Pressed and mounted on cardstock, the scraggly leaves became sweet watermelon’s type specimen—a particular preserved organism treated as the official representative of its species. Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Nov. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of type specimen was in 1852

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Cite this Entry

“Type specimen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/type%20specimen. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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