rare
Noun pluralrares
Pluralrares
- 1Not found, seen, or happening very often; uncommon, scarce, or infrequent.
The museum displays several rare manuscripts from the medieval period.
Sightings of the animal have become increasingly rare.
UsageOften it is rare for someone to do something; the forms are rarer and rarest.
Similaruncommon, scarce, unusual, infrequent
- 2Of meat, especially beefsteak: cooked very lightly so the inside remains red.
She ordered her steak rare, with a cool red center.
Many people enjoy beef cooked rare, but pork and chicken should always be cooked through.
UsageOften after the verb: order a steak rare, like it rare; the scale runs rare, medium, well done.
Similarunderdone
Oppositewell-done
Note
Only the spelling links this to the "scarce" word. It was not always about steak: John Dryden's Baucis and Philemon, from Ovid (1700), has new-laid eggs "roasted rear," the older form of rare. On a menu it sits at the far end from well done.
- 3A scarce or uncommon item, especially one sought after in a game or collection.
Collectors will pay a premium for a rare in mint condition.
The booster pack guaranteed at least one rare among its cards.
Similarrarity
Oppositecommon
Note
In trading-card games it names a tier ranked above uncommons. That is why George Baxter and Larry W. Smith's Mastering Magic Cards (1995) can speak of trading low-valued rares for good uncommons. The tier records how scarce a card is, not what it is worth.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Rare is a trading-card rarity above uncommon. magic.wizards.com
- George Baxter and Larry W. Smith are the authors of Mastering Magic Cards. en.wiktionary.org
- The book discusses trading low-value rares for good uncommons. en.wiktionary.org
- Rarity describes scarcity rather than determining a card's monetary value. magic.wizards.com
Less common meanings
- 4Thin or of low density, as with air at high altitudes.
Note
Rārus already meant "thin" and "loose," and a rare gas is one whose substance is spread out and spaced apart. It is said of gases, above all air, so it pairs naturally with atmosphere and with talk of height and thin breathing.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Latin rārus meant thin and loose. en.wiktionary.org
- Rare applied to a gas means low in density. en.wiktionary.org
- 5Unusually good or great, used mostly in the informal phrase 'a rare old time', meaning a very enjoyable time.
After the wedding, everyone agreed they had a rare old time dancing until midnight.
We had a rare old time on the camping trip, even when it rained.
UsageMost often in the phrase a rare old time, meaning a very good time.
Similargreat, brilliant, awesome, excellent
Note
British slang of approval: something rare in this sense is a treat, not a scarcity. Chris Difford's lyrics for "Vanity Fair" (1981) apply it to how a woman feels about things. That line shows the risk of this sense, since it can be heard either as delight or as oddity.
- 6Early; occurring or arriving before the usual time.
The men, that sway / In work of those tools that so fit our state, / Are rude mechanicals, that rare and late / Work in the market-place;
1614, Homer, “The Sixth Book of Homer’s Odysseys”Note
An obsolete adjective with its own ancestry: its relatives are rather and rath, not Latin rārus. George Chapman's translation of Homer's Odyssey (1614–1615) pairs it with its opposite, describing workers who labor "rare and late" in the market-place, that is, early and late. Modern readers will take it as "seldom," so the word needs explaining whenever it is quoted.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- Rare has an obsolete adjective sense meaning early. en.wiktionary.org
- The early sense belongs with rather and rath, separately from the Latin-derived rare. en.wiktionary.org
- George Chapman's translation of Homer's Odyssey was originally published in 1614–1615. en.wikipedia.org
- The translation describes workers working 'rare and late' in the market-place. beta.perseus.tufts.edu
- Rare means early in this passage, making the phrase mean early and late. beta.perseus.tufts.edu
- 7Of a horse or similar animal, to rear, rise up on the hind legs, or start backward suddenly.
Frank pretended to rare back as if bedazzled, shielding his eyes with a forearm.
2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day - 8To rear, bring up, or raise a child, animal, or crop to maturity.
Here I have to say that I was walking along dark-hearted, my nose out of joint about Audie's notice of her, for just as quickly as my feelings kindled, my old envy rared.
2013, Janet Peery, What the Thunder Said: A Novella and Stories
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Origins
From Middle English rare, from Old French rare, from Latin rārus ("loose, spaced apart, thin, infrequent"), whose earlier origin is uncertain; it may go back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- ("friable, thin"). It replaced older native English words like gesen and seld for "rare" or "scarce."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- English rare comes from Middle English rare, through Old French rare, from Latin rārus. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin rārus meant loose, spaced apart, thin, or infrequent. en.wiktionary.org
- Rare displaced native English words including gesen and seld meaning rare or scarce. en.wiktionary.org
The root is Proto-Indo-European *ḱroHs- ("to cook, mix, stir"), which led to Proto-Germanic *hrōzijaną ("to stir") and Old English hrēran ("to move, shake, stir"). From that verb came hrēr ("not thoroughly cooked, underdone"), which became Middle English rere. The modern word is a dialectal form of rear.
Perhaps related to rath, an old word meaning "early," and to rather, which first meant "sooner."