paragon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpæɹəɡən/
ipa: /ˈpæɹəˌɡɔn/
ipa: /ˈpæɹəˌɡɑn/
ipa: /ˈpæɹəɡən/
Forms: form: paragons
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman paragone, peragone, Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone (“comparison”) or Spanish parangón, from Byzantine Greek παρακόνη (parakónē, “whetstone”), from Ancient Greek παρακονάω (parakonáō, “I sharpen, whet”), from παρά (pará) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).
Senses: examples: text: In the novel, Constanza is a paragon of virtue who would never compromise her reputation.
text: What a piece of worke is man! how Noble in Reaſon? […] the beauty of the world, the Parragon of Animals;
ref: c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 262, column 2:
text: That thou might'st cherish for thine own / The riches of sweet Mary's son, / Boy-Rabbi, Israel's paragon.
ref: 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Threnody”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 246:
text: Yes, there were instances of grandstanding and obsessive behaviour, but many were concealed at the time to help protect an aggressively peddled narrative of [Oscar] Pistorius the paragon, the emblem, the trailblazer.
ref: 2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):
text: Liz Cheney and her father are positioning themselves as protectors of the old order, as paragons of truth and as defenders of our American norms.
ref: 2021 May 6, Charles M. Blow, “Liz Cheney, We Have a Memory. You’re No Hero.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: A paragon must embody liberal democracy. To get its hands dirty defending it is below-stairs.
ref: 2023 February 11, Janan Ganesh, “After Germany's fall, which is the paragon nation?”, in FT Weekend, page 22:
synonyms: word: archetype
word: epitome
word: example
word: exemplar
word: icon
word: model
word: paradigm
word: paragon
word: pattern
word: quintessence
word: template
glosses: A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model for others.
examples: text: Philoclea, who indeed had no paragon but her sister
ref: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:
english: The New Arcadia
translation: The New Arcadia
text: Nathlesse proud man himselfe the other deemed,
Having so peerlesse paragon ygot
ref: 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: A companion; a match; an equal.
examples: text: good by paragone / Of euill, may more notably be rad, / As white seemes fairer, macht with blacke attone […].
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: Comparison; competition.
topics: media
printing
publishing
typography
glosses: The size of type between great primer and double pica, standardized as 20-point.
examples: text: The "Koh-i-noor," or "Mountain of Light," is the eighth and smallest of these paragon diamonds (all diamonds weighing over a hundred carats are called Paragon); but it was originally the largest diamond ever known, weighing uncut 900 carats. . . this matchless gem of 900 carats which once belonged to the Great Mogul, and was the very paragon of paragons.
ref: November 1861, Anon ("E.L.L"), “Precious Stones”, in Temple Bar, volume III, page 377:
topics: gemmology
gemology
geography
geology
jewelry
lifestyle
natural-sciences
glosses: A flawless diamond of at least 100 carats.
Derived terms: outparagon
paragade
paragonize
paragonless