Rarefied

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describes air or gas that has a lower density than normal atmosphere ; refers to something elevated or lofty in style or character ; applies to ideas, groups, or environments only understood or appreciated by a specialized few
2. Characterizes air with reduced pressure or thickness, often found at high altitudes ; denotes something refined or elevated beyond the ordinary ; pertains to circles or knowledge restricted to an exclusive audience
3. Indicates an atmosphere with thin, less concentrated gas particles ; describes lofty or elevated qualities in demeanor or writing ; relates to specialized, elite groups or advanced concepts accessible to only a select few

Etymology: "Rarefied" began as a verb meaning to make something less dense, and its most famous sense came from a physics idea: thinning air at high altitude. Middle English borrowed "rarefien" from Old French "rarefier," which came from the Latin "rarefacere," literally "make rare." The Latin verb combined "rarus," meaning thin or scattered, with "facere," to make, so the word was built on the same idea of making something less compact that it still carries today. Over time the sense moved from physical substances to social and intellectual ones. Speaking of air thinned on a mountain summit, a writer could make the image of rarefied air literal, and from there the word was applied figuratively to people and pursuits set apart from ordinary life. Its modern sense of exclusive or elevated comes from that shift: something rarefied is so thin in quantity or so high in standing that few can reach it.

Synonyms: sublime, elevated, lofty, refined, exclusive

Antonyms: common, ordinary, simple, accessible, unrefined