noun
Meaning 1
An unusual or exceptional person or thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rara avis
Antonyms: none provided
Phrase guide
rare bird
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
Meaning 2
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rare, bird.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
a rare or unique person
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rara avis
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: anomaly, unusual person
History
Etymology
Calque of Latin rāra avis, part of a commonly quoted line from Juvenal's Satire VI: rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno ("a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan").