Preclare is an obsolete Scots and literary adjective meaning illustrious, distinguished, or eminent — of great renown. Derived from the Latin 'praeclarus' (very bright, very famous), it belongs to the formal, Latinate register that Scottish scholars and writers of earlier centuries often employed. Entirely archaic in contemporary usage; encountered in historical Scottish writing, legal documents, or the kind of elaborate formal prose of the 16th–18th centuries that drew heavily on Latin vocabulary.
The preclare gentleman was welcomed into the hall with full ceremony befitting his reputation.
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(obsolete, Scotland) illustrious, distinguished.
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