paragon

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈpærəˌɡɑn/ UK /ˈpærəɡən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a model of excellence or perfection

She was held up as a paragon of professional integrity.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a model of excellence or... model exemplar epitome ideal archetype nonpareil pattern

Etymology

From Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone 'touchstone, comparison', from paragonare 'to test on a touchstone', from Greek parakonan 'to sharpen, whet', from para- 'alongside' + akonē 'whetstone'.

paragone Italian akónē Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

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# paragon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpærəˌɡɑn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpærəɡən/

## Meanings
1. a model of excellence or perfection

## Examples
- She was held up as a paragon of professional integrity.

## Synonyms
- model
- exemplar
- epitome
- ideal
- archetype
- nonpareil
- pattern

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: paragone
- Root: akónē

## Etymology
From Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone 'touchstone, comparison', from paragonare 'to test on a touchstone', from Greek parakonan 'to sharpen, whet', from para- 'alongside' + akonē 'whetstone'.

## AI Etymology
Paragon comes from Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone 'touchstone, comparison', from paragonare 'to test on a touchstone', from Greek parakonan 'to sharpen, whet', from para- 'alongside' + akonē 'whetstone'. The historical trail runs through Italian paragone and Ancient Greek akónē. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means a model of excellence or perfection.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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paragon

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