rare

/rɛər/

/rɛə/

Other forms: rarest; rarer

If an event is rare, it doesn't happen often. If an object is rare, there aren't many of its kind. Obviously, finding a rare gem is a rare occasion.

Rare comes from the Latin word rarus, meaning “widely spaced,” as rare things are — whether in actual space or in time. You thought it was rare to meet someone you have so much in common with, until he fainted looking at the rare steak you ordered. The rare that describes prepared meat actually has a separate origin: it comes from the long-gone word rear, meaning “half-cooked.”

Definitions of rare

1. adjective

   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”

   synonyms: uncommon

   extraordinary

   beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
2. adjective

   not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
   “a rare word”

   “rare books”

   synonyms:

   uncommon

   not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind
3. adjective

   not widely distributed
   “rare herbs”

   “rare patches of green in the desert”

   synonyms:

   scarce

   deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand
4. adjective

   recurring only at long intervals
   “a rare appearance”

   “total eclipses are rare events”

   synonyms:

   infrequent

   not frequent; not occurring regularly or at short intervals
5. adjective

   having low density
   “rare gasses”

   synonyms: rarefied, rarified

   thin

   relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous
6. adjective

   (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside
   “rare roast beef”

   synonyms:

   raw

   not treated with heat to prepare it for eating