Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Rare?

\Rare\ (r[^a]r), a. [Cf. {Rather}, {Rath}.] Early. [Obs.] Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place. --Chapman.
\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.
\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.