RARE

rare

(adjective) not widely distributed; “rare herbs”; “rare patches of green in the desert”

rare

(adjective) not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness; “a rare word”; “rare books”

rare

(adjective) (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside; “rare roast beef”

rare

(adjective) recurring only at long intervals; “a rare appearance”; “total eclipses are rare events”

rare, uncommon

(adjective) marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or extreme of its kind; “what is so rare as a day in June”-J.R.Lowell; “a rare skill”; “an uncommon sense of humor”; “she was kind to an uncommon degree”

rare, rarefied, rarified

(adjective) having low density; “rare gasses”; “lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Adjective

rare (comparative rarer, superlative rarest)

Very uncommon; scarce.

Synonyms: scarce, selcouth, seld, seldsome, selly, geason, uncommon, Thesaurus:rare

Antonyms: common, frequent, Thesaurus:common

(of a gas) Thin; of low density.

(UK, slang) Good; enjoyable.

Etymology 2

Adjective

rare (comparative rarer or more rare, superlative rarest or most rare)

(cooking, particularly meats) Cooked very lightly, so the meat is still red (in the case of steak or beef in the general sense).

Antonym: well done

Etymology 3

Verb

rare (third-person singular simple present rares, present participle raring, simple past and past participle rared)

(US, intransitive) To rear, rise up, start backwards.

(US, transitive) To rear, bring up, raise.

Usage notes

• Principal current, non-literary use is of the present participle raring with a verb in "raring to". The principal verb in that construction is go. Thus, raring to go ("eager (to start something)") is the expression in which rare is most often encountered as a verb.

Etymology 4

Adjective

rare (comparative more rare, superlative most rare)

(obsolete) early

Anagrams

• arré, rear

Source: Wiktionary

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Rare, a. Etym: [Cf. Rather, Rath.]

Definition: Early. [Obs.] Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place. Chapman.

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.] Etym: [Cf. AS. hrer, or E. rare early.]

Definition: Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton. New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. Dryden.

Note: This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.] Etym: [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.]

1. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.

2. Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found. Rare work, all filled with terror and delight. Cowley. Above the rest I judge one beauty rare. Dryden.

3. Thinly scattered; dispersed. Those rare and solitary, three in flocks. Milton.

4. Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations. Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold. Sir I. Newton.

Syn.

– Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable.

– Rare, Scarce. We call a thing rare when but few examples, specimens, or instances of it are ever to be met with; as, a rare plant. We speak of a thing as scarce, which, though usually abundant, is for the time being to be had only in diminished quantities; as, a bad harvest makes corn scarce. A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world. Burke. When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor. Addison.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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