Emily Dickinson Lexicon

sparrow (-'s, -s), n. [OE 'sparrow-hawk'.]

Spartan, proper n. [L. < Gr. spartē, cord or rope made from the shrub spartos.] (webplay: Spartan bravery).

Valiant warrior; self-sacrificing defender; soldier from the capital of the Peloponnesus in ancient Greece; one of the three hundred Greeks defending the pass at Thermopylae against the might of the Persian Empire; [fig.] soldier; hero; Civil War casualty.

speak (-s, spoke, spoken), v. [OE sprecan.]

To utter or pronounce words.

spear, n. [OE.]

Thrusting weapon made of a wooden staff.

special, adj. [OFr or L. 'individual, particular'.]

1. Uncommon; distinguished from others by some peculiar or particular quality.
2. Dear to the heart; intimate; precious.
3. Lawful; specifically and uniquely designated.

species, n. [L. 'appearance, form, kind, to look, behold'.]

1. A distinct sort, form, or kind of something specifically mentioned or implied.
2. A less emotive or euphemistic alternative for “dead person”; a deceased or departed person; an immortal human soul.

specific, adj. [see species, n.]

1. Specifically referred to, mentioned, or implied; indicating a particular individual or case.
2. Specially or particularly pertaining to, characteristic of, or belonging to a species or group.
3. Subject to delimitation or demarcation.

specifical, adv. [see species, n.]

Specifically; in a specific manner or fashion; with a definite purpose, goal, or result in mind.

specify (-ied), v. [OFr 'to describe, mention, note particularly'.]

1. To mention or state specifically or explicitly.
2. To speak plainly and explicitly about a matter, without reservation or disguise, so as to make it clearly understood.
3. To describe and assign a name to; enumerate or list with others of its class.

specimen (-s), n. [L. 'to look at'.]

A sample or selection, regarded as an example of the whole.