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Rara avis

//ˌɹɑːɹə ˈeɪvɪs// noun

Definitions

Noun

1
A rare species or type of bird.
"Ramsay flung open the door. "Lord Fred—damn it we are all in the lurch!", he exclaimed, […] "my rara avises have taken wing and flown off." / "What were they actually, Ramsay?" asked Newbank. / "Two black swans," replied he—"the finest creatures ever were beheld, except another of the kind that is in company with them, though I understand there is more of the breed.""
2
a rare or unique person wordnet
3
A rare or unique, and thus outstanding or unusual, person or thing; a rare bird. figuratively
"That Parsons girl is quite the rara avis if you ask me."

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin rāra avis (“rare bird”). The synonym rare bird is attested earlier. The term is a quotation from Satire VI (written late 1st century – early 2nd century C.E.) of the Roman poet Juvenal: “Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno [a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan]!”. The plural form rarae aves is a learned borrowing from Latin rārae avēs.

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