Other forms: rarities
Rarity is how seldom something is found. The rarity of the stamp, valued for its rarity, a bird of some rarity.
It is uncountable when it means the quality and countable when it means the thing: a rarity is something seldom seen, and that is the commoner use — a sunny February is a rarity round here. The word is standard in collecting, natural history and the antiques trade, where rarity is one of the things that sets a price. Note that rarity and scarcity are not the same: rarity is about how few exist at all, scarcity about how few are available now.
1nounrarityThe state of being seldom found.
“Its value comes entirely from its rarity.”
synonyms: scarcity, uncommonness
2nounseenSomething seldom seen.
“A quiet Saturday here is a rarity.”
rarity is a degree of scarcity.
Latin raritas comes from rarus, meaning thinly scattered before it meant uncommon — the same root as rarefied, meaning thinned out. Something rare was spread thin, which is a physical picture the modern word has almost lost.
Latin
rāritās
Middle French
rarité
English, today
rarity
From rare + ity, borrowed from Middle French rarité, from Latin rāritās; compare French rareté. See also rare.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA