'rarely-cited' originates from a compound of the adverb 'rarely' and the past participle 'cited'. 'rarely' derives from the adjective 'rare' (from Old French 'rare', ultimately from Latin 'rarus'), where 'rarus' meant 'thinly distributed' or 'scarce'. 'cited' ultimately comes from Latin 'citare' via Old French 'citer', where 'citare' meant 'to summon' or 'to urge (to action)' and developed the sense 'to call to mind' or 'to quote'.

'cite' changed from Latin 'citare' into Old French 'citer' and entered Middle English as forms meaning 'to summon' or 'to quote', eventually becoming modern English 'cite'. 'rare' came from Latin 'rarus' through Old French 'rare' into Middle English, and the adverb 'rarely' was formed by adding the suffix '-ly' in later English.

Initially components meant 'seldom' (rarely) and 'to summon/quote' (cite); over time the compound came to be used in modern English to mean 'infrequently mentioned or referenced' in writings or scholarship.