rarest

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

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]