RARE (3)

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer (râr″ẽr); superl. Rarest.] [[F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.]] 1. 1. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.
2. 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. 3. Thinly scattered; dispersed.
Those rare and solitary, these in flocks. Milton. 4. 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. 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. 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.