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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

paragon.

A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model for others.

7 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpæɹəɡən/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpæɹəˌɡɔn/General-American/ˈpæɹəˌɡɑn/General-American/ˈpæɹəɡən/General-American
  1. A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model for others.

    In the novel, Constanza is a paragon of virtue who would never compromise her reputation.
  2. A companion; a match; an equal.

    obsolete
  3. Comparison; competition.

    obsolete
  4. The size of type between great primer and double pica, standardized as 20-point.

    dated
  5. A flawless diamond of at least 100 carats.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Middle French paragon, paragone, from Old Italian paragone, from paragonare (“to test on a touchstone”), perhaps from Ancient Greek παρακονᾶν (parakonân, “to sharpen, whet”), from παρά- (pará-) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone, sharpening stone”), from ἀκή (akḗ, “point, edge”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).

verb/ˈpæɹəɡən/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpæɹəˌɡɔn/General-American/ˈpæɹəˌɡɑn/General-American/ˈpæɹəɡən/General-American
  1. To compare; to parallel; to put in rivalry or emulation with.

  2. To compare with; to equal; to rival.

  3. To serve as a model for; to surpass.

  4. To be equal; to hold comparison.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Middle French paragon, paragone, from Old Italian paragone, from paragonare (“to test on a touchstone”), perhaps from Ancient Greek παρακονᾶν (parakonân, “to sharpen, whet”), from παρά- (pará-) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone, sharpening stone”), from ἀκή (akḗ, “point, edge”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.