rare

rare · adjective, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁reh₁-“friable, thin”
2. Latin · derived fromrārus“loose, spaced apart, thin, infrequent”
3. Old French · derived fromrare
4. Middle English · inherited fromrare
5. English todayrare

From Middle English rare, from Old French rare, rere (“rare, uncommon”), from Latin rārus (“loose, spaced apart, thin, infrequent”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“friable, thin”). Displaced native English geason (“rare, scarce”) (from Middle English gesen, from Old English gǣsne); and largely displaced Middle English seld (“rare, uncommon”) (from Old English selden) and Middle English seldscene (“rare, rarely seen, infrequent”) (from Old English seldsēne) hence modern English seld

rare · adjective²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱroHs-“to mix, stir, cook”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*hrōzijaną“to stir”
3. Old English · inherited fromhrēr
4. Middle English · inherited fromrere
5. English todayrare

From a dialectal variant of rear, from Middle English rere, from Old English hrēr, hrēre (“not thoroughly cooked, underdone, lightly boiled”), from hrēran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōzijaną (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱroHs- (“to mix, stir, cook”). Related to Old English hrōr (“stirring, busy, active, strong, brave”). More at rear.

rare · verb³

Variant of rear.

rare · adjective⁴

Compare rather, rath.

Words from the same roots