paragon - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)
From Anglo-Norman paragone, peragone, Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone (“comparison”) or Spanish parangón, from Mediaeval Greek παρακόνη (parakonē, "whetstone"), from Ancient Greek παρακονάω (parakonáō, “I sharpen, whet”), from παρά (pará) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpæɹəɡən/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpæɹəˌɡɔn/, /ˈpæɹəˌɡɑn/, /ˈpæɹəɡən/
paragon (plural paragons)
- A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model for others. [from 16th c.]
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:model
In the novel, Constanza is a paragon of virtue who would never compromise her reputation.- 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:
What a piece of worke is man! how Noble in Reaſon? […] the beauty of the world, the Parragon of Animals; - 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Threnody”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 246:
That thou might'st cherish for thine own / The riches of sweet Mary's son, / Boy-Rabbi, Israel's paragon. - 2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)[1]:
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. - 2021 May 6, Charles M. Blow, “Liz Cheney, We Have a Memory. You’re No Hero.”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
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. - 2023 February 11, Janan Ganesh, “After Germany's fall, which is the paragon nation?”, in FT Weekend, page 22:
A paragon must embody liberal democracy. To get its hands dirty defending it is below-stairs.
- 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:
- (obsolete) A companion; a match; an equal. [16th–19th c.]
- 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:
Philoclea, who indeed had no paragon but her sister
- 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:
- (obsolete) Comparison; competition. [16th–17th c.]
- (typography, printing, dated) The size of type between great primer and double pica, standardized as 20-point. [from 18th c.]
- A flawless diamond of at least 100 carats.
model or pattern
- Bulgarian: образе́ц (bg) m (obrazéc)
- Chinese:
Mandarin: 典範/典范 (zh) (diǎnfàn), 模範/模范 (zh) (mófàn)
Wu: 模範/模范 - Czech: vzor (cs) m, ten, kdo jde příkladem m, ideál m
- Dutch: toonbeeld (nl)
- Finnish: perikuva (fi), esikuva (fi)
- French: parangon (fr)
- German: Vorbild (de) n, Muster (de) n, Leuchtturm (de) m, Inbegriff (de) m, Modell (de) n, Paradebeispiel (de) n, Musterknabe m
- Hebrew: מוֹפֵת (he) m (mofét)
- Indonesian: pedoman (id)
- Irish: eiseamláir f
- Manx: ard-hampleyr m
- Persian: نمونه (fa) (nemune)
- Polish: wzór (pl) m
- Portuguese: modelo (pt), exemplo (pt)
- Romanian: pildă (ro) f, model (ro) n, etalon (ro) n
- Russian: образе́ц (ru) (obrazéc)
- Spanish: modelo (es) m, dechado (es)
- Telugu: మేలుబంతి (te) (mēlubanti)
- Turkish: örnek (tr)
20-point type
- Bulgarian: парагон m (paragon)
- Chinese:
Mandarin: 二十點活字/二十点活字
Wu: 廿點活字/廿点活字 (nyae³tie² weh⁴zy³) - Czech: paragon (cs)
- Dutch: paragon
- French: petit-parangon (fr)
- German: Paragon (de), Secunda
- Italian: paragone (it), ascendonica
- Polish: paragon (pl)
- Spanish: gran paragon
paragon (third-person singular simple present paragons, present participle paragoning, simple past and past participle paragoned)
- To compare; to parallel; to put in rivalry or emulation with.
- 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:
for want of a bigger , to paragon the little one with Artesia's length
- 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:
- To compare with; to equal; to rival.
- a. 1786, [Richard Glover], “Book the Twenty-seventh”, in [Mrs. Halsey], editor, The Athenaid, a Poem, […], volume III, London: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], published 1787, →OCLC, page 192, lines 539–543:
In arms anon to paragon the morn, / The morn new-riſing, whoſe vermillion hand / Draws from the bright'ning front of heav'n ſerene / The humid curtains of tempeſtuous night, / Mardonius mounts his courſer.
- a. 1786, [Richard Glover], “Book the Twenty-seventh”, in [Mrs. Halsey], editor, The Athenaid, a Poem, […], volume III, London: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], published 1787, →OCLC, page 192, lines 539–543:
- To serve as a model for; to surpass.
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
He hath achieved a maid / That paragons description and wild fame.
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
- To be equal; to hold comparison.
- “paragon”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “paragon”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- paragon on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- parangon
Genericized trademark of the German paper company Paragon, from Italian paragone, from Byzantine Greek παρακόνη (parakónē).
paragon m inan
- receipt, sales slip
Synonyms: stvrzenka, účtenka
- “paragon”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “paragon”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- “paragon”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)
paragon
Genericized trademark of the German paper company Paragon, from Italian paragone, from Byzantine Greek παρακόνη (parakónē).
paragon m inan
- receipt (written acknowledgement that a specified article or sum of money has been received)