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17 results for: Rare
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rare1 
Audio Help [rair] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [rair] Pronunciation Key –adjective, rar·er, rar·est.
| 1. | coming or occurring far apart in time; unusual; uncommon: a rare disease; His visits are rare occasions. |
| 2. | thinly distributed over an area; few and widely separated: Lighthouses are rare on that part of the coast. |
| 3. | having the component parts not closely compacted together; not dense: rare gases; lightheaded from the rare mountain air. |
| 4. | unusually great: a rare display of courage. |
| 5. | unusually excellent; admirable; fine: She showed rare tact in inviting them. |
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L rārus loose, wide apart, thin, infrequent]
] —Related forms
rareness, noun
—Synonyms 1. exceptional, extraordinary, singular. 2. sparse, infrequent. 5. choice, incomparable, inimitable.
—Antonyms 1. common. 2. frequent. 5. inferior.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Rare
To learn more about Rare visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
rare2
Audio Help [rair] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [rair] Pronunciation Key –adjective, rar·er, rar·est.
| (of meat) cooked just slightly: He likes his steak rare. |
[Origin: 1645–55; var. of earlier rear, ME rere, OE hrér lightly boiled]
] —Related forms
rareness, noun
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| rare 1
Audio Help (râr) Pronunciation Key
adj. rar·er, rar·est
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rārus.] rare'ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| rare 2
Audio Help (râr) Pronunciation Key
adj. rar·er, rar·est Cooked just a short time so as to retain juice and redness: a rare steak. [Middle English rere, lightly boiled, from Old English hrēr; see kerə- in Indo-European roots.] rare'ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
rare (adj.1)
"unusual," c.1420, originally "few in number and widely separated," from O.Fr. rere "sparse" (14c.), from L. rarus "thinly sown, having a loose texture," from PIE *er-, *ere- "to loose, split, separate" (cf. Skt. rte "besides, except," viralah "distant, tight, rare;" O.C.S. oriti "to dissolve, destroy;" Lith. irti "to dissolve;" O.C.S. rediku "rare;" Gk. eremos "solitary"). "Few in number," hence, "unusual" (1542). Rarity is attested from 1560, from M.Fr. rarité (16c.), from L. raritas "thinness, fewness," from rarus. In chemistry, rare earth is from 1875.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
rare (adj.2)
"undercooked," 1655, variant of M.E. rere, from O.E. hrer "lightly cooked," probably related to hreran "to stir, move." Originally of eggs, not recorded in reference to meat until 1784, and according to OED, in this sense "formerly often regarded as an Americanism, although it was current in many English dialects ...."
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
rare (v.)
"rise up," 1833, dialectal variant of rear (v.). Sense of "eager" (in raring to go) first recorded 1909.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| rare | |
adjective | |
| 1. | not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness; "a rare word"; "rare books" |
| 2. | recurring only at long intervals; "a rare appearance"; "total eclipses are rare events" |
| 3. | not widely distributed; "rare herbs"; "rare patches of green in the desert" |
| 4. | having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air" |
| 5. | 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" |
| 6. | (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside; "rare roast beef" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
rare1 [ˈreə] adjective
not done, found, seen etc very often; uncommon
Example: a rare flower; a rare occurrence
rare2 [ˈreə] adjectiveExample: a rare flower; a rare occurrence
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(of meat) only slightly cooked
Example: I like my steak rare.
See also: rarely, rarityExample: I like my steak rare.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
RARE
Rseaux Associs pour la Recherche Europenne
| The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe |
Rare
Rare\ (r[^a]r), a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.] Early. [Obs.] Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place. --Chapman.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Rare
Rare\, a. [Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hr[=e]r, or E. rare early.] 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.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Rare
Rare\, a. [Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.] [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. Usage: 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.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
RARE
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