(a) A close friend, an intimate associate; chesen to his ~, to choose (the name of Jesus) as something with which he wishes to be closely associated; (b) a follower, retainer; an adherent; also, an officer, a captain; (c) a sweetheart, mistress; a lover; ?also, a husband [1st quot.]; (d) the bride in the Song of Solomon, interpreted by medieval theologians as the bride of Christ; (e) a particularly beautiful or well-favored woman.

(a) A certain person (among a group); a specific thing; a specific part (of sth.); a concrete or material thing (of this world); (b) with article: the specific as opposed to the general; -- also pl.; also, something specific [quot. ?a1425]; the specialist, the most precise; (c) med. a remedy intended for a certain disease or part of the body, a specific.

In phrase in ~: (a) specifically, particularly, in particular; in more ~, more particularly; accusen in ~, to make specific accusations; speken in ~, be specific, speak plainly; (b) in detail; condescenden in ~, to explain in detail, get down to particulars; (c) individually; one by one; (d) privately; speken in ~; (e) especially; more than anything else.