Rare — Defs

01 a. Early.

1.
Early.[Obs.]
“Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place.” — Chapman.

02 a. Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton.

1.
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.

03 a. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.

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, these 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.

“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.

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.