# Where do the terms rare/medium/well done come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699 "2016-07-12T00:56:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/1 "2016-07-12T00:56:42Z")
With regard to steak temperatures, medium is pretty much the only one that makes sense. There’s nothing particularly “well done” about a well done steak, most chefs would consider it rather poorly done. Similarly, “rare” steaks aren’t all that rare either, they’re just as common as any other steak. How did we end up with the rare/medium/well done terminology for steak doneness and what was their original meaning? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/2 "2016-07-12T01:15:52Z")
I have a dead-tree dictionary here that says that “rare” meaning uncommon, and “rare” meaning slightly cooked, have separate origins and are only coincidentally the same in modern English. The “rare” that refers to steaks comes from an Old English word “hrer” that means “lightly boiled”. The other “rare” comes from Latin “rarus”. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/3 "2016-07-12T01:22:52Z")
The French term for “well done” translates literally as “well-cooked”. If you think of “done” as “cooked” well-done is well and truly cooked. I think the “re” in refried also means “well and truly” and comes from Spanish. Those beans are well and truly fried, not fried twice. Interesting question. I never thought about “rare” before. My question is why is label spelled label but table is spelled table. That always trips me up. Lable looks OK to me. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/4 "2016-07-12T23:32:08Z")
There are other cases where “well” means “very”: well-known, well-worn, well-trod, etc. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/5 "2016-07-13T00:21:54Z")
_Rare_, in English, to indicate doneness of meat goes back in print to at least 1615. > [@OED](#): > > 1615 To know when meate is rosted enough, for as too much rareness is vnwholsome, so too much drinesse is not nourishing. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/6 "2016-07-13T15:51:04Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I have a dead-tree dictionary here that says that “rare” meaning uncommon, and “rare” meaning slightly cooked, have separate origins and are only coincidentally the same in modern English. > > The “rare” that refers to steaks comes from an Old English word “hrer” that means “lightly boiled”. > > The other “rare” comes from Latin “rarus”. Boiled steak!??! The olden English truly were barbarians! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/7 "2016-07-13T15:58:06Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > Boiled steak!??! The olden English truly were barbarians! 🙂 Perhaps in Old English “lightly boiled” meant sous vide & seared. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/8 "2016-07-14T00:08:18Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I have a dead-tree dictionary here that says that “rare” meaning uncommon, and “rare” meaning slightly cooked, have separate origins and are only coincidentally the same in modern English. > > The “rare” that refers to steaks comes from an Old English word “hrer” that means “lightly boiled”. > > . _Hrer_ meant "lightly **cooked**. It then turned into _rere_, but the only “boiled” uses were in reference to eggs. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/9 "2016-07-14T00:23:08Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > My question is why is label spelled label but table is spelled table. That always trips me up. Lable looks OK to me. Two different source words. Table ultimately borrowed from Latin-- \* tabula\* =board, plank, etc. which turned into Old French _table_. Label from Old French _label_ =ribbon. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/10 "2016-07-14T01:27:12Z")
I have heard the term “blue meat” used for rare once before. Has anyone else heard it used? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/11 "2016-07-14T01:36:42Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I have heard the term “blue meat” used for rare once before. Has anyone else heard it used? Blue (or bleu) is even rarer than rare. I’m guessing it’s named that because it comes out with a purplish tinge which is “bluer” than the pink of a medium-rare steak. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/12 "2016-07-14T10:27:04Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I have heard the term “blue meat” used for rare once before. Has anyone else heard it used? Absolutely. But blue does not mean rare, but even less done. I like my steaks on the blue side of rare. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/13 "2016-07-15T16:57:42Z")
Blue rare is a common term, and is often paired as “black and blue” which means charred on the outside and all but raw inside. Think of it as a beef version of seared ahi. It’s also called Pittsburgh style. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/14 "2016-07-19T22:05:07Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I have heard the term “blue meat” used for rare once before. Has anyone else heard it used? I’ve never heard it in English, as others here have, but I have heard it in French. France has four degrees of doneness: blue, bloody, something I forget, and well-cooked. As I remember, anyway. I wont be surprised if l’m corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/15 "2016-07-20T10:54:37Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > I wont be surprised if l’m corrected. _won’t_ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-terms-rare-medium-well-done-come-from/759699/16 "2016-07-20T12:11:15Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > Interesting question. I never thought about “rare” before. My question is why is label spelled label but table is spelled table. That always trips me up. Lable looks OK to me. The [Gallagher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfz3kFNVopk#t=1m40s) thing really has nothing at all to do with the thread, but as long as we’re here, I manged to get half my employees to call our co-worker “Kylie”, since, to me, that’s how Kyle should be pronounced. I told him it’s either that or he could start spelling his name Kyel. For an uber-confident guy, this kinda threw him.