rara avis

English

Etymology

Latin rāra avis (“rare bird”), plural rarae aves

From Juvenal's Satires (6.165): Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno ("a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan").

Noun

rara avis (plural rara avises or rarae aves)

1. A rare or unique person or thing.

   That Parsons girl is quite the rara avis if you ask me.

Translations

rare or unique person or thing

• Dutch: vreemde vogel (nl), vreemde eend (nl)
• Finnish: outo lintu (fi)

• French: oiseau rare (fr) m
• Polish: biały kruk (pl) m