Adjective

(en adjective)

explicit or definite

(sciences) Pertaining to a species.

*2008 , (Richard Dawkins), The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing , Oxford 2009, p. 3:

*:Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.

(taxonomy) pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species

special, distinctive or unique

intended for, or applying to a particular thing

being a remedy for a particular disease

Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.

* Coleridge

In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science.

(immunology) limited to a particular antibody or antigen

(physics) of a value divided by mass (e.g. specific orbital energy)

(physics) similarly referring to a value divided by any measure which acts to standardize it (e.g. thrust specific fuel consumption, referring to fuel consumption divided by thrust)

(physics) a measure compared with a standard reference value by division, to produce a ratio without unit or dimension (e.g. specific refractive index is a pure number, and is relative to that of air)

Adjective

(en adjective)

Directly related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.

His mother provided some relevant background information concerning his medical condition.

Not out of date; current.

* {{quote-news, year=1973, date=December 20, title=Hansen says Christmas time for thanks, hope, work=The Aberdeen Times citation

, passage=The message of Christmas is still relevant as we near the end of a troubled year and the beginning of an uncertain but challenging new year.}}

* {{quote-book, year=2008, author=Scott Cooper, Fritz Grutzner, Birk Cooper, title=Tips and Traps for Marketing Your Business, publisher=McGraw-Hill, isbn=978-0071494892 citation

, passage=Motorola was quickly losing the cell-phone battle to Nokia for a time. When they launched the RAZR phone and combined it with their "Hello Moto" campaign, it made the brand relevant again.}}