WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Rare
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [Cf. Rather, Rath.]
Definition : Defn: Early. [Obs.] Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place. Chapman.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Rare
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [Cf. AS. hrer, or E. rare early.]
Definition : Defn: 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.

[Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Rare
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.]
Definition : 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. -- 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.

[Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913