Meanings
nounspecial name (plural special names)
plural special names
- obsoletebiologyspecific name
If it be held that the generic and special names may not be tautonymic, the Law of Priority will determine whether the special or the generic name should be changed.
1896, Thomas de Grey, Rules for Regulating Nomenclature
Cite this entry
APA
special name. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/special%20name
MLA
“special name.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/special%20name. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “special name,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/special%20name.
Source: special name on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.