sparsely

rārus, a, um, adj. [etym. dub.; cf. Sanscr. root rah-, to abandon], having wide interstices between its parts, of a loose texture, not thick or dense, thin (opp. densus; freq. and class.).

Lit.:

denseri poterunt ignes, rarique relinqui,

Lucr. 1, 656; cf.:

(terra) Rara sit an supra morem si densa requiras... Densa magis Cereri, rarissima quaeque Lyaeo,

Verg. G. 2, 227 sq.; 1, 419:

textura,

Lucr. 4, 196; cf.

retia,

Verg. A. 4, 131; Hor. Epod. 2, 33:

tunica,

Ov. Am. 1, 5, 13; and:

cribrum,

id. M. 12, 437:

rariores silvae,

the thinner, clearer parts of the forest, Tac. Agr. 37:

seges,

Col. 2, 9, 6:

corpus (opp. solidae res),

Lucr. 1, 347; 2, 860; 6, 631 al.:

aër,

id. 2, 107; cf. in the comp., id. 6, 1024:

manus,

i.e. with the fingers spread apart, Quint. 11, 3, 103:

raraque non fracto vestigia pulvere pendent,

i.e. scarcely visible, Stat. Th. 6, 640.—

Transf.

Of things which stand apart from each other, far apart, here and there, scattered, thin, scanty ( = disjectus;

opp. densus, confertus): cum raris disjectisque ex aedificiis pabulum conquireretur,

Hirt. B. G. 8, 10; cf.:

vides habitari in terrā raris et angustis in locis,

scattered, Cic. Rep. 6, 19, 20:

apparent rari nantes,

Verg. A. 1, 118:

foramina,

Lucr. 5, 457:

bacae expanduntur rarae,

Plin. 17, 10, 11, § 60:

frutices in vertice,

Ov. H. 10, 25:

coma,

id. Am. 1, 8, 111; cf. capillus. Suet. Calig. 50:

racemi,

Verg. E. 5, 7:

umbra,

id. ib. 7, 46:

arbores,

Nep. Milt. 5, 3:

tela,

Ov. M. 12, 600 et saep. — Poet.:

manat rara meas lacrima per genas,

drop by drop, Hor. C. 4, 1, 34. —

In partic., in military lang., far apart, here and there, scattered about, dispersed, straggling, single (opp. confertus). accedebat huc, ut numquam conferti, sed rari magnisque intervallis proeliarentur, Caes. B. G. 5, 16; cf.:

rari in confertos illati,

Liv. 23, 27:

ipsi ex silvis rari propugnabant,

Caes. B. G. 5, 9; 5, 17; 7, 45; 7, 80; id. B. C. 1, 27 fin.:

Samnites raris ordinibus constiterant,

Liv. 9, 27; Curt. 4, 14, 14:

rara est acies,

Verg. A. 9, 508:

rarior acies,

Tac. H. 3, 25; Front. Strat. 3, 10, 4:

rarior acies,

Curt. 4, 15, 20: ut ordines suos non magnopere servarent. [p. 1525] rari dispersique pugnarent, Caes. B. C. 1, 44; cf. Tac. Agr. 37 fin.; Front. Strat. 1, 5, 23.—

Of any thing found in small numbers or which seldom takes place, few, rare (cf. paucus):

in omni arte... ut in ipsă virtute, optimum quidque rarissimum,

Cic. Fin. 2, 25, 81; cf.:

rarum genus (amicorum) et quidem omnia praeclara rara,

id. Lael. 21, 79:

raris ac prope nullis portibus,

Caes. B. G. 3, 12 fin.; cf.:

etiamsi rarus ejus rei, nonnullus tamen usus,

Quint. 8, 6, 30:

rarus enim est animus ad ea defendenda,

Sall. H. 3, 61, 7 Dietsch:

Idem rarum est, non sine usu tamen,

Quint. 5, 11, 42:

rari domos, plurimi amicorum tecta... petivere,

Tac. H. 1, 79 fin.:

Oceanus raris ab orbe nostro navibus aditur,

id. G. 2:

aliquod solitarium aut rarum,

Cic. Inv. 1, 44, 83:

ut anteponantur rara vulgaribus,

id. Top. 18, 69:

litterae,

Liv. 6, 1; cf. id. 7, 3:

rara hostium apparebant arma,

id. 2, 50:

lites,

Quint. 7, 1, 43:

infelicitas,

id. 11, 2, 49:

quae (littera) est apud nos rarissima in clausulis,

id. 12, 10, 31:

quod est magis rarum,

id. 9, 2, 73:

ex maxime raro genere hominum,

Cic. Lael. 17, 64; cf. Quint. 7, 3, 25:

raris vocibus hisco,

Verg. A. 3, 314:

rara per ignotos errent animalia montes,

id. E. 6, 40:

audiet pugnas vitio parentum Rara juventus,

Hor. C. 1, 2, 24. —Rarum est, with ut:

rarum est, ut, etc.,

Quint. 3, 10, 3; 6, 3, 38; 10, 7, 24:

rarum dictu, esse aliquid, cui prosit neglegentia,

Plin. 18, 16, 39, § 140.—

Mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose for the adv. raro, seldom, rarely:

nec Iliacos coetus nisi rarus adibat,

Ov. M. 11, 766; cf.:

rarus, qui tam procul a portu recessisset, reperiebatur,

Quint. 12, prooem. § 3; so,

rarus fuit, qui, etc.,

id. 6, 2, 3:

antiquis scriptoribus rarus obtrectator,

Tac. A. 4, 33; Sall. H. Fragm. 3, 22, p. 233 Gerl.:

Caesar rarus egressu,

Tac. A. 15, 53; cf.:

leones rari in potu,

Plin. 8, 16, 18, § 46:

(calculus) rarus inventu,

id. 28, 15, 61, § 217; cf.:

helxine rara visu est,

id. 21, 16, 56, § 96:

Homerus alias circa picturas pigmentaque rarus,

i. e. rarely speaks of them, id. 33, 7, 38, § 115 —

Poet., in partic., uncommon of its kind, scarce, rare, extraordinary, remarkable:

rara puella fuit,

Prop. 1, 17, 16; so,

Cynthia,

id. 1, 8, 42:

ministra deae,

id. 4 (5), 11, 52; cf.:

rara quidem facie, sed rarior arte canendi,

Ov. M. 14, 337:

facies,

id. H. 17, 93 Ruhnk.:

vestis,

Cat. 69, 3:

avis (sc. pavo),

Hor. S. 2, 2, 26:

fides,

id. C. 1, 35, 21:

artis opus rarae,

Tib. 3, 4, 37:

patulis rarissima ramis,

Ov. M. 7, 622:

rarissima turba,

id. A. A. 2, 281:

rarissimi ingenii homo,

Sen. Contr. 28:

conjux rarissima,

Stat. S. 5, 1, 11.— Hence, adv., usually raro (class.), but sometimes rare (ante - class. and postAug.), rarenter (ante- and post - class.), or rariter (late Lat.).

Form rārō:

raro nimium dabat quod biberem,

Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 20:

potavi, edi, donavi, et enim id raro,

id. Bacch. 4, 10, 6:

si id, quod raro fit, fieri omnino negetur,

Cic. Inv. 1, 43, 80:

evenire insolenter et raro (opp. vulgo),

id. ib. 1, 28, 43:

vinum aegrotis prodest raro, nocet saepissime,

id. N. D. 3, 27, 69; id. de Or. 3, 52, 101; cf. id. Or. 24, 80:

sed tamen raro habet in oratione poeticum aliquod verbum dignitatem,

id. de Or. 3, 38, 153:

raro antecedentem scelestum Deseruit poena,

Hor. C. 3, 2, 31: admodum raro, Cic. Fat. Fragm. ap. Macr. S. 2, 12;

for which we find raro admodum,

Quint. 11, 1, 14; Plin. 2, 50, 51, § 135:

raro umquam,

Quint. 4, 1, 4; 5, 7, 22; Plin. 22, 22, 46, § 93:

ita raro,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 13, 37:

sic raro,

Hor. S. 2, 3, 1:

tam raro,

Ov. M. 13, 117:

quam raro,

Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 25:

perquam raro,

Plin. 37, 4, 15, § 55.— Comp.:

quod si rarius fiet, quam tu exspectabis,

Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 1.— Sup.:

istud rarissime accidere,

Col. 5, 5, 7:

non affari nisi rarissime,

Suet. Claud. 3.—

Form rārē (acc. to I.), far apart, thinly, sparsely, here and there:

nisi rare conseritur, vanam et minutam spicam facit,

Col. 2, 9, 5:

tenui vimine rarius contextus saccus,

id. 9, 15, 12.—

(Acc. to II. B.) Of time, seldom, rarely:

vero rare capitur (piscis),

Plaut. Rud. 4, 3, 56.—

Form rārenter, seldom, rarely:

dato rarenter bibere,

Cato, R. R. 103; so, rarenter, Liv. And., Enn., Caecil., Nov., Trab., Pompon. ap. Non. 515, 23 sq.; 164, 25 sq.; App. Flor. 3, p. 357, 22. —

Form rārĭter (very rare): quidquid fit rariter, magis delectat, Schol. Juv. 11, 208.

rārus, a, um, adj. [etym. dub.; cf. Sanscr. root rah-, to abandon], having wide interstices between its parts, of a loose texture, not thick or dense, thin (opp. densus; freq. and class.).

Lit.:

denseri poterunt ignes, rarique relinqui,

Lucr. 1, 656; cf.:

(terra) Rara sit an supra morem si densa requiras... Densa magis Cereri, rarissima quaeque Lyaeo,

Verg. G. 2, 227 sq.; 1, 419:

textura,

Lucr. 4, 196; cf.

retia,

Verg. A. 4, 131; Hor. Epod. 2, 33:

tunica,

Ov. Am. 1, 5, 13; and:

cribrum,

id. M. 12, 437:

rariores silvae,

the thinner, clearer parts of the forest, Tac. Agr. 37:

seges,

Col. 2, 9, 6:

corpus (opp. solidae res),

Lucr. 1, 347; 2, 860; 6, 631 al.:

aër,

id. 2, 107; cf. in the comp., id. 6, 1024:

manus,

i.e. with the fingers spread apart, Quint. 11, 3, 103:

raraque non fracto vestigia pulvere pendent,

i.e. scarcely visible, Stat. Th. 6, 640.—

Transf.

Of things which stand apart from each other, far apart, here and there, scattered, thin, scanty ( = disjectus;

opp. densus, confertus): cum raris disjectisque ex aedificiis pabulum conquireretur,

Hirt. B. G. 8, 10; cf.:

vides habitari in terrā raris et angustis in locis,

scattered, Cic. Rep. 6, 19, 20:

apparent rari nantes,

Verg. A. 1, 118:

foramina,

Lucr. 5, 457:

bacae expanduntur rarae,

Plin. 17, 10, 11, § 60:

frutices in vertice,

Ov. H. 10, 25:

coma,

id. Am. 1, 8, 111; cf. capillus. Suet. Calig. 50:

racemi,

Verg. E. 5, 7:

umbra,

id. ib. 7, 46:

arbores,

Nep. Milt. 5, 3:

tela,

Ov. M. 12, 600 et saep. — Poet.:

manat rara meas lacrima per genas,

drop by drop, Hor. C. 4, 1, 34. —

In partic., in military lang., far apart, here and there, scattered about, dispersed, straggling, single (opp. confertus). accedebat huc, ut numquam conferti, sed rari magnisque intervallis proeliarentur, Caes. B. G. 5, 16; cf.:

rari in confertos illati,

Liv. 23, 27:

ipsi ex silvis rari propugnabant,

Caes. B. G. 5, 9; 5, 17; 7, 45; 7, 80; id. B. C. 1, 27 fin.:

Samnites raris ordinibus constiterant,

Liv. 9, 27; Curt. 4, 14, 14:

rara est acies,

Verg. A. 9, 508:

rarior acies,

Tac. H. 3, 25; Front. Strat. 3, 10, 4:

rarior acies,

Curt. 4, 15, 20: ut ordines suos non magnopere servarent. [p. 1525] rari dispersique pugnarent, Caes. B. C. 1, 44; cf. Tac. Agr. 37 fin.; Front. Strat. 1, 5, 23.—

Of any thing found in small numbers or which seldom takes place, few, rare (cf. paucus):

in omni arte... ut in ipsă virtute, optimum quidque rarissimum,

Cic. Fin. 2, 25, 81; cf.:

rarum genus (amicorum) et quidem omnia praeclara rara,

id. Lael. 21, 79:

raris ac prope nullis portibus,

Caes. B. G. 3, 12 fin.; cf.:

etiamsi rarus ejus rei, nonnullus tamen usus,

Quint. 8, 6, 30:

rarus enim est animus ad ea defendenda,

Sall. H. 3, 61, 7 Dietsch:

Idem rarum est, non sine usu tamen,

Quint. 5, 11, 42:

rari domos, plurimi amicorum tecta... petivere,

Tac. H. 1, 79 fin.:

Oceanus raris ab orbe nostro navibus aditur,

id. G. 2:

aliquod solitarium aut rarum,

Cic. Inv. 1, 44, 83:

ut anteponantur rara vulgaribus,

id. Top. 18, 69:

litterae,

Liv. 6, 1; cf. id. 7, 3:

rara hostium apparebant arma,

id. 2, 50:

lites,

Quint. 7, 1, 43:

infelicitas,

id. 11, 2, 49:

quae (littera) est apud nos rarissima in clausulis,

id. 12, 10, 31:

quod est magis rarum,

id. 9, 2, 73:

ex maxime raro genere hominum,

Cic. Lael. 17, 64; cf. Quint. 7, 3, 25:

raris vocibus hisco,

Verg. A. 3, 314:

rara per ignotos errent animalia montes,

id. E. 6, 40:

audiet pugnas vitio parentum Rara juventus,

Hor. C. 1, 2, 24. —Rarum est, with ut:

rarum est, ut, etc.,

Quint. 3, 10, 3; 6, 3, 38; 10, 7, 24:

rarum dictu, esse aliquid, cui prosit neglegentia,

Plin. 18, 16, 39, § 140.—

Mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose for the adv. raro, seldom, rarely:

nec Iliacos coetus nisi rarus adibat,

Ov. M. 11, 766; cf.:

rarus, qui tam procul a portu recessisset, reperiebatur,

Quint. 12, prooem. § 3; so,

rarus fuit, qui, etc.,

id. 6, 2, 3:

antiquis scriptoribus rarus obtrectator,

Tac. A. 4, 33; Sall. H. Fragm. 3, 22, p. 233 Gerl.:

Caesar rarus egressu,

Tac. A. 15, 53; cf.:

leones rari in potu,

Plin. 8, 16, 18, § 46:

(calculus) rarus inventu,

id. 28, 15, 61, § 217; cf.:

helxine rara visu est,

id. 21, 16, 56, § 96:

Homerus alias circa picturas pigmentaque rarus,

i. e. rarely speaks of them, id. 33, 7, 38, § 115 —

Poet., in partic., uncommon of its kind, scarce, rare, extraordinary, remarkable:

rara puella fuit,

Prop. 1, 17, 16; so,

Cynthia,

id. 1, 8, 42:

ministra deae,

id. 4 (5), 11, 52; cf.:

rara quidem facie, sed rarior arte canendi,

Ov. M. 14, 337:

facies,

id. H. 17, 93 Ruhnk.:

vestis,

Cat. 69, 3:

avis (sc. pavo),

Hor. S. 2, 2, 26:

fides,

id. C. 1, 35, 21:

artis opus rarae,

Tib. 3, 4, 37:

patulis rarissima ramis,

Ov. M. 7, 622:

rarissima turba,

id. A. A. 2, 281:

rarissimi ingenii homo,

Sen. Contr. 28:

conjux rarissima,

Stat. S. 5, 1, 11.— Hence, adv., usually raro (class.), but sometimes rare (ante - class. and postAug.), rarenter (ante- and post - class.), or rariter (late Lat.).

Form rārō:

raro nimium dabat quod biberem,

Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 20:

potavi, edi, donavi, et enim id raro,

id. Bacch. 4, 10, 6:

si id, quod raro fit, fieri omnino negetur,

Cic. Inv. 1, 43, 80:

evenire insolenter et raro (opp. vulgo),

id. ib. 1, 28, 43:

vinum aegrotis prodest raro, nocet saepissime,

id. N. D. 3, 27, 69; id. de Or. 3, 52, 101; cf. id. Or. 24, 80:

sed tamen raro habet in oratione poeticum aliquod verbum dignitatem,

id. de Or. 3, 38, 153:

raro antecedentem scelestum Deseruit poena,

Hor. C. 3, 2, 31: admodum raro, Cic. Fat. Fragm. ap. Macr. S. 2, 12;

for which we find raro admodum,

Quint. 11, 1, 14; Plin. 2, 50, 51, § 135:

raro umquam,

Quint. 4, 1, 4; 5, 7, 22; Plin. 22, 22, 46, § 93:

ita raro,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 13, 37:

sic raro,

Hor. S. 2, 3, 1:

tam raro,

Ov. M. 13, 117:

quam raro,

Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 25:

perquam raro,

Plin. 37, 4, 15, § 55.— Comp.:

quod si rarius fiet, quam tu exspectabis,

Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 1.— Sup.:

istud rarissime accidere,

Col. 5, 5, 7:

non affari nisi rarissime,

Suet. Claud. 3.—

Form rārē (acc. to I.), far apart, thinly, sparsely, here and there:

nisi rare conseritur, vanam et minutam spicam facit,

Col. 2, 9, 5:

tenui vimine rarius contextus saccus,

id. 9, 15, 12.—

(Acc. to II. B.) Of time, seldom, rarely:

vero rare capitur (piscis),

Plaut. Rud. 4, 3, 56.—

Form rārenter, seldom, rarely:

dato rarenter bibere,

Cato, R. R. 103; so, rarenter, Liv. And., Enn., Caecil., Nov., Trab., Pompon. ap. Non. 515, 23 sq.; 164, 25 sq.; App. Flor. 3, p. 357, 22. —

Form rārĭter (very rare): quidquid fit rariter, magis delectat, Schol. Juv. 11, 208.