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New English :: rare adjective (Youth Culture)
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rarrange.html - In young people's slang: extremely good or impressive; 'hip', 'cool'. Etymology: A revival of a colloquial sense of the adjective rare which first developed in the fifteenth century, but was considered archaic in the early twentieth century. The usage probably found its way into young people's slang through US Black street slang and rap. 'Rare!' is an expression of wonder , gasped rather than spoken. New Statesman 16 Feb. 1990, p. 12 |
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Traditional English :: rara avis
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rarrange.html - n.
(pl. rarae aves) a rarity; a kind of person or thing rarely encountered. [L, = rare bird] |
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Traditional English :: rare(1)
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rarrange.html - adj. (rarer, rarest) 1 seldom done or found or occurring, uncommon, unusual, few and far between. 2 exceptionally good (had a rare time). 3 of less than the usual density, with only loosely packed substance (the rare atmosphere of the mountain tops). rare bird = RARA AVIS. rare earth 1 a lanthanide element.
2 an oxide of such an element. rare gas = noble gas. rareness n. [ME f. L rarus] |
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Traditional English :: rare(2)
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rarrange.html - adj.
(rarer, rarest) (of meat) underdone. [var. of obs. rear half-cooked (of eggs), f. OE hrer] |
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Traditional English :: rarebit
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rarrange.html - n.
= Welsh rabbit. [RARE(1) + BIT(1)] |
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Traditional English :: raree-show
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rarrange.html - n.
1 a show or spectacle.
2 a show carried about in a box; a peep-show. [app. = rare show as pronounced by Savoyard showmen] |
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