rare

Adjective

WordNet 3.0

Adjective (6)

not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness“a rare word”“rare books”
recurring only at long intervals“a rare appearance”“total eclipses are rare events”
not widely distributed“rare herbs”“rare patches of green in the desert”
having low density“rare gasses”“lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air”Synonyms: rarefied rarified
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”Synonyms: uncommon
(of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside“rare roast beef”

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Rare \Rare\ (r[^a]r), a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.] Early. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place. --Chapman. [1913 Webster]

Rare \Rare\, a. [Compar. Rarer (r[^a]r"[~e]r); superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hr[=e]r, or E. rare early. [root]18.] Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton. [1913 Webster]

New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Note: This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred. [1913 Webster]

Rare \Rare\, a. [Compar. Rarer (r[^a]r"[~e]r); superl. Rarest.] [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.]

1.Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event. [1913 Webster]

2.Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found. [1913 Webster]

Rare work, all filled with terror and delight.— Cowley.[1913 Webster]

Above the rest I judge one beauty rare.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

3.Thinly scattered; dispersed. [1913 Webster]

Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.— Milton.[1913 Webster]

4.Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations. [1913 Webster]

Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold.— Sir I. Newton.[1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world.— Burke.[1913 Webster]

When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor.— Addison.[1913 Webster]

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

Réseaux Associés pour la Recherche Européenne RARE

(RARE) An association of national and international European networks and users.