# rare

Pronunciation: say "RAIR" US /ɹɛɚ/, UK /ɹɛə(ɹ)/

## Adjective

1. Not found, seen, or happening very often; uncommon, scarce, or infrequent.
   - Simple: Not common, not happening often, or hard to find.
   - _The museum displays several rare manuscripts from the medieval period._
   - _Sightings of the animal have become increasingly rare._
2. Of meat, especially beefsteak: cooked very lightly so the inside remains red.
   - Simple: Cooked only briefly, so the inside of the meat stays 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._
4. Thin or of low density, as with air at high altitudes.
   - Simple: Thin and spread out, with very little packed into a space.
5. Unusually good or great, used mostly in the informal phrase 'a rare old time', meaning a very enjoyable time. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: Very good or great. It is mostly used in 'a rare old time', which means a really fun 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._

## Noun

3. A scarce or uncommon item, especially one sought after in a game or collection.
   - Simple: An item that is hard to get because not many of it exist.
   - _Collectors will pay a premium for a rare in mint condition._
   - _The booster pack guaranteed at least one rare among its cards._

## Adjective

6. Early; occurring or arriving before the usual time. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Happening or coming early.

## Other meanings

- (verb) Of a horse or similar animal, to rear, rise up on the hind legs, or start backward suddenly.
- (verb) To rear, bring up, or raise a child, animal, or crop to maturity.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–5** — 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."
**Meaning 2** — 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.
**Meaning 6** — Perhaps related to rath, an old word meaning "early," and to rather, which first meant "sooner."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rare (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).