Rare Meat and a Rare Book Are Different Words
A rarity is something uncommon. The rare of an underdone steak comes from a separate Old English word.
A rarity is something uncommon or valuable because scarce. The *rare* of an underdone steak is a different word: it comes from Old English *hrer*, meaning lightly cooked, originally of eggs, while the scarcity sense comes from Latin *rarus*. Two adjectives converged on one spelling and English absorbed both without comment.
- Something uncommon. *A collector's rarity.*
- Scarcity. *The rarity of the species.*
- Rare — uncommon. *A rare bird.*
- Rare — lightly cooked. *A rare steak.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | rarity | A genuine rarity. |
| Plural | rarities | Collected rarities. |
| Adjective | rare | A rare event. |
| Adverb | rarely | Rarely seen. |
| Related | rarefied | Rarefied air. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The two rares are different words.Scarce and lightly cooked.
- Rarefied air is thin.At altitude.
- A rare earth element is not especially rare.Just difficult to separate.
Steak doneness
- Blue — seared outside, barely warm within
- Rare — cool red centre
- Medium rare — warm red centre
- Medium — pink throughout
- Well done — no pink remaining
From Latin *rarus*, thin or sparse. The cookery sense comes separately from Old English *hrer*, lightly boiled.
Are rare earths rare?
Not especially. They are reasonably abundant but rarely found in concentrated deposits and difficult to separate from each other.
Are the two senses of *rare* related?
No. Scarcity comes from Latin; the cookery sense from an Old English word for lightly cooked eggs.