Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A model of excellence or perfection of a kind; a peerless example: a paragon of virtue.
- n. An unflawed diamond weighing at least 100 carats.
- n. A very large spherical pearl.
- n. Printing A type size of 20 points.
- v. To compare; parallel.
- v. To equal; match.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A model or pattern; especially, a model or pattern of special excellence or perfection.
- n. A companion; fellow; mate.
- n. A rival.
- n. Rivalry; emulation; hence, comparison; a test of excellence or superiority.
- n. A stuff, embroidered or plain, used for dress and upholstery in the seventeenth century.
- n. A diamond weighing more than 100 carats.
- n. A size of printing-type, about lines to the inch, the intermediate of the larger size double small-pica and the smaller size great-primer, equal to 20 points, and so distinguished in the new system of sizes.
- To compare; parallel; mention in comparison or competition.
- To admit comparison with; rival; equal.
- To go beyond; excel; surpass.
- To compare; pretend to comparison or equality.
Wiktionary
- n. A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model of some given (especially positive) quality. [from 16th c.]
- n. A companion; a match; an equal. [16th-19th c.]
- n. Comparison; competition. [16th-17th c.]
- n. A size of type between great primer and double pica. [from 18th c.]
- n. A flawless diamond of at least 100 carats.
- v. to compare; to parallel; to put in rivalry or emulation with
- v. to compare with; to equal; to rival
- v. to serve as a model for; to surpass
- v. to be equal; to hold comparison
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A companion; a match; an equal.
- n. Emulation; rivalry; competition.
- n. A model or pattern a pattern of excellence or perfection.
- n. A size of type between great primer and double pica. See the Note under Type.
- v. To compare; to parallel; to put in rivalry or emulation with.
- v. To compare with; to equal; to rival.
- v. To serve as a model for; to surpass.
- v. To be equal; to hold comparison.
WordNet 3.0
- n. model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
- n. an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept
Etymologies
- Obsolete French, from Old French, from Old Italian paragone, from paragonare, to test on a touchstone, perhaps from Greek parakonān, to sharpen : para-, alongside; see para-1 + akonē, whetstone; see ak- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“And do you not think, Plato, that it might possibly be found that this paragon is a Canadian?”
“Here you are, what they call a paragon of success, a future senator, Ambassador to England.”
“Lincoln's Town Car sedan is another example of a top-rated luxury car from a parent company not known as a paragon of reliability.”
“‘I don’t know what you may call a paragon, my dear.”
“This paragon was hers, and it bore the cherished name.”
“To many of its friends and neighbours, though, the paragon is a disappointment.”
“Farris has been described as a paragon of public service from those she has worked with.”
“Hrm ... the paragon is a fundamentally flawed class.”
“Day did finally marry a "paragon", Esther Milnes, an heiress from Chesterfield.”
The Guardian: Author unveils the story of real Prof Higgins and Eliza Doolittle
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘paragon’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
bilby "Even his friends and business associates, men and women alike, were paragons of health: avoiders of fatty foods, moderate drinkers, health-club habitues, lovers of cross-country skiing, weekend canoe trips, and daylong hikes in the North Woods."
- Alvin Greenberg, 'How the Dead Live'. Jun 9, 2009
gangerh Isn't this the prescription drug for parago? May 8, 2009
tonya A paragon is peerless, but to paragon something is to compare or make it equal. Aug 14, 2008