nonpareil

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌnɑnpəˈrɛl/ UK /ˌnɒnpəˈreɪl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
having no equal; a person or thing without rival

As a violinist she was a nonpareil, unmatched by any of her contemporaries.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having no equal; a person... peerless unrivaled unequaled matchless incomparable paragon

Opposites

ordinary mediocre commonplace

Word family

Related forms pair par

Simplified etymology

Nonpareil was borrowed directly from French in late Middle English and means literally “not equalled.” Its final element derives from Latin par, “equal.”

Etymology

From French nonpareil ('without equal'), from non ('not') + pareil ('equal, like'), from Vulgar Latin *pariculus, diminutive of Latin par ('equal').

nonpareil Middle French par Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# nonpareil

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌnɑnpəˈrɛl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌnɒnpəˈreɪl/

## Meanings
1. having no equal; a person or thing without rival

## Examples
- As a violinist she was a nonpareil, unmatched by any of her contemporaries.

## Synonyms
- peerless
- unrivaled
- unequaled
- matchless
- incomparable
- paragon

## Antonyms
- ordinary
- mediocre
- commonplace

## Related Forms
- pair
- par

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: nonpareil
- Root: par

## Etymology
From French nonpareil ('without equal'), from non ('not') + pareil ('equal, like'), from Vulgar Latin *pariculus, diminutive of Latin par ('equal').

## AI Etymology
Nonpareil comes from French nonpareil ('without equal'), from non ('not') + pareil ('equal, like'), from Vulgar Latin *pariculus, diminutive of Latin par ('equal'). The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As an adjective and noun, it carries the sense "having no equal; a person or thing without rival", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Middle French nonpareil and Latin par. Related words include pair, par.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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