[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

rare \rare\ r^ar, a. cf. rather, rath.
   early. obs.
   1913 webster

         rude mechanicals that rare and late
         work in the market place.                --chapman.
   1913 webster
see also:
rather rath 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

rare \rare\, a. compar. rarer r^ar"~er; superl.
   rarest. cf. as. hr=er, or e. rare early. root18.
   nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked;
   underdone; as, rare beef or mutton.
   1913 webster

         new-laid eggs, which baucis' busy care
         turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. --dryden.
   1913 webster

   note: this word is in common use in the united states, but in
         england its synonym underdone is preferred.
         1913 webster
see also:
rarer rarest underdone 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

rare \rare\, a. compar. rarer r^ar"~er; superl.
   rarest. f., fr. l. rarus thin, rare.
   1. not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a
      rare event.
      1913 webster

   2. of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a
      degree seldom found.
      1913 webster

            rare work, all filled with terror and delight.
                                                  --cowley.
      1913 webster

            above the rest i judge one beauty rare. --dryden.
      1913 webster

   3. thinly scattered; dispersed.
      1913 webster

            those rare and solitary, these in flocks. --milton.
      1913 webster

   4. characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose
      texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere
      at high elevations.
      1913 webster

            water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence
            nineteen times rarer, than gold.      --sir i.
                                                  newton.
      1913 webster

   syn: scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular;
        extraordinary; incomparable.

   usage: 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.
          1913 webster

                a perfect union of wit and judgment is one of
                the rarest things in the world.   --burke.
          1913 webster

                when any particular piece of money grew very
                scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding
                emperor.                          --addison.
          1913 webster
see also:
rarer rarest rare scarce 

[4] : WordNet (r) 2.0

rare
     adj 1: not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness; "a
            rare word"; "rare books"
     2: recurring only at long intervals; "a rare appearance";
        "total eclipses are rare events"
     3: not widely distributed; "rare herbs"; "rare patches of gree
        in the desert"
     4: marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or
        extreme of its kind; "what is so rare as a day in
        june"-j.r.lowell; "a rare skill"; "an uncommon sense of
        humor"; "she was kind to an uncommon degree" syn: uncommon
     5: having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the
        rarefied mountain air" syn: rarefied, rarified
     6: of meat cooked a short time; still red inside; "rare roast
        beef"
see also:
uncommon rarefied rarified 

[5] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

235 moby thesaurus words for "rare":
   a cut above, above, admirable, adulterated, ahead, airy,
   almost unheard-of, another, ascendant, at a premium, attenuate,
   attenuated, atypical, beguiling, better, bewildering, boyish,
   breakaway, capping, celebrated, cheeseparing, chinchy, chintzy,
   choice, chosen, collectable, conspicuous, crude, cut, dainty,
   delicate, diaphanous, dilute, diluted, distinguished, eclipsing,
   elegant, else, eminent, enigmatic, esteemed, estimable, ethereal,
   exceeding, excellent, excelling, exceptional, exiguous, exquisite,
   extraordinary, fabulous, fallen, fantastic, fascinating, few, fine,
   fine-drawn, finer, finespun, first-class, first-rate, flimsy,
   frail, gaseous, gauzy, girlish, good, gossamer, gracile, greater,
   higher, in ascendancy, in short supply, in the ascendant,
   incomparable, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible,
   infrequent, insubstantial, lacy, light, limited, major, marked,
   marvelous, matchless, meager, memorable, miraculous, miserly,
   misty, niggardly, noble, not done, not that sort, not the same,
   not the type, notable, noteworthy, occasional, of a sort,
   of another sort, of choice, of mark, of sorts, offbeat, one up on,
   other, other than, otherwise, out of print, out of season,
   out of stock, outlandish, outstanding, over, papery,
   passing strange, peculiar, peerless, phenomenal, piddling, poor,
   prestigious, prodigious, prominent, puzzling, rarefied, raw,
   recherche, red, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, rivaling,
   saignant, salient, scant, scanty, scarce, scattered, scrimping,
   scrimpy, seldom, seldom met with, seldom seen, select, sensational,
   signal, singular, skimping, skimpy, slender, slenderish, slight,
   slight-made, slim, slimmish, slinky, slow, small, sodden, sparse,
   special, sporadic, spotty, sprinkled, stingy, strange, striking,
   stupendous, subtile, subtle, sui generis, super, superior,
   superlative, surpassing, svelte, sylphlike, telling, tenuous, thin,
   thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun, thinned, thinned-out, thinnish,
   threadlike, tight, topping, transcendent, transcendental,
   transcending, unbaked, unboiled, uncommon, uncompact, uncompressed,
   uncooked, uncustomary, undercooked, underdone, undreamed-of,
   unexpected, unfamiliar, unforgettable, unfrequent, unheard-of,
   unimaginable, unique, unordinary, unparalleled, unprecedented,
   unsubstantial, unthinkable, unthought-of, unusual, unwonted, upper,
   vague, vaporous, wasp-waisted, watered, watered-down, watery, weak,
   willowy, windy, wiredrawn, wispy, wonderful, wondrous

[6] : Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002)

rare
     reseaux associes pour la recherche europeenne org.
     
     

[7] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

rare
     
        reseaux associes pour la recherche europeenne
     
     
see also:
reseaux associes pour la recherche europeenne 

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