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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Specimen \Spec"i*men\, n. [L., fr. specere to look, to behold.
See {Spy}.]
A part, or small portion, of anything, or one of a number of
things, intended to exhibit the kind and quality of the
whole, or of what is not exhibited; a sample; as, a specimen
of a man's handwriting; a specimen of a person's blood; a
specimen of painting; aspecimen of one's art.
[1913 Webster PJC]

Syn: Sample; model; pattern.

Usage: {Specimen}, {Sample}. A specimen is a representative
of the class of things to which it belongs; as, a
specimen of photography. A sample is a part of the
thing itself, designed to show the quality of the
whole; as, a sample of sugar or of broadcloth. A
cabinet of minerals consists of specimens; if a part
be broken off from any one of these, it is a sample of
the mineral to which it belongs. "Several persons have
exhibited specimens of this art before multitudes of
beholders." --Addison. "I design this but for a sample
of what I hope more fully to discuss." --Woodward.
[1913 Webster]