rara avis

== English == === 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. === Pronunciation === Singular: (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɹɑːɹə ˈeɪvɪs/, /ˌɹɛː-/, /-ˈɑːvɪs/, /-ˈævɪs/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɹɑɹə ˈeɪvɪs/ Rhymes: -eɪvɪs, -ævɪs Hyphenation: ra‧ra avis Plural (rarae aves): (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɹɑːɹiː ˈeɪviːs/, /ˌɹɑːɹaɪ-/, /ˌɹɛːɹiː-/, /ˌɹɛːɹaɪ-/, /-ˈɑːviːs/, /-ˈæviːs/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɹɑɹi ˈeɪvis/ Hyphenation: ra‧rae aves === Noun === rara avis (plural rara avises or rarae aves or (obsolete) raræ aves) A rare species or type of bird. (figuratively) A rare or unique, and thus outstanding or unusual, person or thing; a rare bird. Synonyms: rarity; see also Thesaurus:rarity ==== Related terms ==== rarissima avis ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== black swan === References === === Further reading === rara avis (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == Italian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from Latin rāra avis (“rare bird”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈra.ra ˈa.vis/ Hyphenation: rà‧ra‧à‧vis === Noun === rara avis f (uncountable) rara avis Synonym: mosca bianca === Further reading === rara avis in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana == Spanish == === Etymology === From Latin [Term?]. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌraɾa ˈabis/ [ˌra.ɾa ˈa.β̞is] Syllabification: ra‧ra a‧vis === Noun === rara avis rara avis === Further reading === “rara avis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025