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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



340 words match “RARE”

INDIUM n.
A rare metallic element, discovered in certain ores of zinc, by means of its characteristic spectrum of two indigo blue lines; hence, its name. In appearance it resembles zinc, being white or lead gray, soft, malleable and easily fusible, but in its chemical relation it resembles aluminium or gallium. Symbol In. Atomic…
INEQUALITY n.
number, it was resolved in a council of war to fight the Dutch fleet. Ludlow. Sympathy is rarely strong where there is a great inequality of condition. Macaulay.
INFREQUENCE; INFREQUENCY n.
The state of rarely occuring; uncommonness; rareness; as, the infrquence of his visits.
INFREQUENT a.
Seldom happening or occurring; rare; uncommon; unusual. The act whereof is at this day infrequent or out of use among all sorts of men. Sir T. Elyot.
INFREQUENTLY adv.
Not frequently; rarely.
INTRINSE a.
Tightly drawn; or (perhaps) intricate. [Very rare] Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain, Which are too intrinse to unloose. Shak.
IRIDIUM n.
A rare metallic element, of the same group as platinum, which it much resembles, being silver-white, but harder, and brittle, and indifferent to most corrosive agents. With the exception of osmium, it is the heaviest substance known, its specific gravity being 22.4. Symbol Ir. Atomic weight 192.5.
IVORY-BILL n.
te secondaries, and a white dorsal stripe. The male has a large, scarlet crest. It is now rare, and found only in the Gulf States.
JAPAN a.
-- Japan camphor, ordinary camphor brought from China or Japan, as distinguished from the rare variety called borneol or Borneo camphor. -- Japan clover, or Japan pea (Bot.), a cloverlike plant (Lespedeza striata) from Eastern Asia, useful for fodder, first noticed in the Southern United States about 1860, but now bec…
JEWEL n.
a precious metal, and having enamel or precious stones as a part of its design. Plate of rare device, and jewels Of rich and exquisite form. Shak.
JUNE n.
The sixth month of the year, containing thirty days. And what is so rare as a day in June Then, if ever, come perfect days. Lowell. June beetle, June bug (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large brown beetles of the genus Lachnosterna and related genera; -- so called because they begin to fly, in the northern Unite…
KHAKI n.
Any kind of khaki cloth; hence, a uniform of khaki or, rarely, a soldier clad in khaki. In the United States and British armies khaki or cloth of a very similar color is almost exclusively used for service in the field.
KNAPSACK n.
the clothing, etc., of a traveler. And each one fills his knapsack or his scrip With some rare thing that on the field is found. Drayton.
LABEL n.
A barrulet, or, rarely, a bendlet, with pendants, or points, usually three, especially used as a mark of cadency to distinguish an eldest or only son while his father is still living.
LANTHANUM n.
A rare element of the group of the earth metals, allied to aluminium. It occurs in certain rare minerals, as cerite, gadolinite, orthite, etc., and was so named from the difficulty of separating it from cerium, didymium, and other rare elements with which it is usually associated. Atomic weight 138.5. Symbol La. [Forme…
LAURITE n.
A rare sulphide of osmium and ruthenium found with platinum in Borneo and Oregon.
LENS n.
therwise modifying vision. In practice, the curved surfaces are usually spherical, though rarely cylindrical, or of some other figure. Lenses
LENTO a.
Slow; in slow time; slowly; -- rarely written lente.
LEVULOSE n.
A sirupy variety of sugar, rarely obtained crystallized, occurring widely in honey, ripe fruits, etc., and hence called also fruit sugar. It is called levulose, because it rotates the plane of polarization to the left. [Written also lævulose.]C6H12O6.
LIGHTNING n.
made bright; enlightenment; brightening, as of the mental powers. [R.] Ball lightning, a rare form of lightning sometimes seen as a globe of fire moving from the clouds to the earth. -- Chain lightning, lightning in angular, zigzag, or forked flashes. -- Heat lightning, more or less vivid and extensive flashes of el…
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