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rare

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rare

1  [rair]
–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.
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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.
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rare

2  [rair]
–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 hrēr lightly boiled

Related forms:
rareness, noun

rare

3  [rair]
–verb (used without object), rared, rar⋅ing. Older Use.
rear 2 (def. 6).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To rare
rare 1   (râr)   
adj.   rar·er, rar·est

  1. Infrequently occurring; uncommon: a rare event; a plant that is rare in this region.

  2. Excellent; extraordinary: a rare sense of honor.

  3. Thin in density: rarefied: rare air.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rārus.]
rare'ness n.
rare 2   (râr)   
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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.

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 ...."

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
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Computing Dictionary

RARE
Réseaux Associés pour la Recherche Européenne

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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