entry
paragon
/ˈpærəɡən/A person or thing regarded as supreme excellence
From Greek παρά- (Beside) + Greek ἀκόνη (Whetstone or sharpening stone).
from French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom Greek parakonan "to sharpen, whet,"
from Greek parakonan "to sharpen, whet,"
from French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom Greek parakonan "to sharpen, whet,"
from Greek parakonan "to sharpen, whet,"
from French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcefrom French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon )
+1 more sourcePicture an Italian goldsmith in the early 1300s rubbing a precious metal against a dark stone to see whether it was genuine. That stone was a paragone, a touchstone, from a Greek expression connected with sharpening a blade on a whetstone. The word then made a wonderfully human leap: a thing used to test gold became a standard by which people tested excellence. French speakers adopted paragon for a model of perfection, and English followed in the 1540s. So when someone is called a paragon, imagine not a haloed saint but a goldsmith holding up a specimen and saying, “This is the one everything else must answer to.”
The Story
Picture an Italian goldsmith in the early 1300s rubbing a precious metal against a dark stone to see whether it was genuine. That stone was a paragone, a touchstone, from a Greek expression connected with sharpening a blade on a whetstone. The word then made a wonderfully human leap: a thing used to test gold became a standard by which people tested excellence. French speakers adopted paragon for a model of perfection, and English followed in the 1540s. So when someone is called a paragon, imagine not a haloed saint but a goldsmith holding up a specimen and saying, “This is the one everything else must answer to.”
Modern Usage
The very best of the best, or someone aspiring to supreme excellence
Notable References
- Paragon, the German power metal band
Kin & Kindred
From 'παρά-'·Beside, alongside
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'ἀκόνη'·Whetstone or sharpening stone
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary