RARE (2)

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer (râr″ẽr); superl. Rarest.] [[Cf. AS. hrēr, or E. rare early. √18.]] 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. ☞ This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.