Make Your Point: RARA AVIS

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pronounce RARA AVIS:

RARE uh AY vis

connect this word to others:

A rare bird, or if you prefer Latin, a rara avis, is a person who's strange, odd, unusual, quirky, and unique.

If a rara avis also happens to be famous, you might call them a sacred monster, or if you prefer French, a mon____ sa__é. Can you recall that term?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Rara avis" is Latin for "rare bird."

For centuries, we've used both the Latin and the English versions to label any person who's rare, strange, and amazing.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "She's a rara avis;" "They're a couple of rara avises."

Other forms:

For the plural, I recommend sticking with the more common "rara avises." But if you like to sound scholarly, you can use 'rarae aves.'"

how to use it:

Like the person it describes, "rara avis" is weird and rarely seen. But it's pretty easy to understand: it looks like "rare avian," which is quite accurate.

So, to strike a tone that's complimentary and very formal, even flowery, refer to someone as a rara avis. When you do, you're saying that they're intriguing, weird but fascinating, and absolutely one of a kind.

examples:

"I have very little respect for politicians of any persuasion, but Margaret is that rara avis, a dedicated, honest and committed representative of the people of Hong Kong."
— Neville Sarony, as quoted by Greg Torode, Reuters, 31 January 2022

"[We] are among the first United States tourists ever to stay long in an out‐of‐the‐way Caribbean spot. [The hotel owner] sees to it that we are introduced as soon as possible to the other guests... We are presented like rara avises."
— Ann Geracimos, New York Times, 4 June 1972

has this page helped you understand "rara avis"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "rara avis" without saying "bizarre celebrity" or "singular person."

try it out:

Although a rara avis is usually a person, it can also be a thing.

For instance, a writer for the New York Times referred to a TV show as a rara avis: "Out of the box, 'Sesame Street' was a rara avis: a mass-market hit on public TV, a kids' show with sophistication and a wild countercultural energy."

With this in mind as an example, talk about another creation (maybe another TV show, or a book, a podcast, or a song) that you might call a rara avis. What makes this creation so rare, strange, and amazing?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "The Tip of the Tongue!"

You know how sometimes you'll be reaching for a perfect word, and it's right there at the tip of your tongue, where you can almost taste it? Somehow that word is caught in the liminal space between your memory and your mouth. This month, let's play with that experience, and practice resolving it to our satisfaction.

I'll give you a short quote from Chris Palmer's heartfelt and eye-opening new book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life, along with a blank where Chris has deployed a truly perfect word. To help bring that word to the tip of your tongue, I'll describe it both physically and semantically.

Try this last one today:

"I hope you will be _____ at the moment of your death and have no fear or anxiety."

The word is 2 syllables long. It sounds soft, starting with S. It conjures up images of the moon, or of blue skies and still waters.

It means "calm, steady, at peace," and often, "relaxed and self-possessed, even blissful."

To reveal the right word, scroll to the bottom of the issue.

review this word:

1. The opposite of a RARA AVIS could be

A. an AIDE or a SERVANT.
B. a POET or a FREE-THINKER.
C. an ARCHETYPE or a STEREOTYPE.

2. You could call _____ a rara avis: per Wikipedia, she's known especially for _____.

A. Björk .. her "three-octave vocal range" and "eccentric public persona"
B. Malala Yousafzai .. her activism for girls' education and for being "the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history"
C. Eleanor Parker .. her role as the sultry Baroness Elsa von Schraeder in the 1965 musical The Sound of Music, an Oscar winner

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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