paragon

¹par·a·gon

noun \ˈper-ə-ˌgän, -gən, ˈpa-rə-\

Definition of PARAGON

: a model of excellence or perfection

Examples of PARAGON

1. <in Arthurian legend, Sir Galahad is depicted as the one knight who is a paragon of virtue>

Origin of PARAGON

Middle French, from Old Italian paragone, literally, touchstone, from paragonare to test on a touchstone, from Greek parakonan to sharpen, from para- + akonē whetstone, from akē point; akin to Greek akmē point — more at edge

First Known Use: circa 1548

Related to PARAGON

Synonyms: beau ideal, classic, eidolon, exemplar, idea, model, nonesuch, nonpareil, ideal, patron saint

Related Words: role model; embodiment, epitome, incarnation, manifestation, personification, phantom, pink; archetype, example, mirror, paradigm, pattern; guideline, principle, rule; gauge (also gage), standard, touchstone; essence, quintessence; acme, apex, apotheosis, culmination, peak, pinnacle, summit, zenith

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Rhymes with PARAGON

Abadan, Acheron, Ahriman, aileron, alençon, amazon, Amazon, amnion, and so on, antiphon, Aragon, autobahn, balmacaan, Bantustan, baryon, Basilan, bear down on, beat up on, betatron, biathlon, cabochon, call upon, calutron, carillon, carry-on, carry on, celadon, check up on, chorion, colophon, come upon, Culiacán, cyclotron, decagon, decathlon, demijohn, dine out on, early on, echelon, electron, elevon, enteron, epsilon, ethephon, etymon, fall back on, fermion, follow-on, Genghis Khan, get it on, go back on, going on, goings-on, gonfalon, Grand Teton, graviton, hanger-on, harijan, helicon, heptagon, hereupon, hexagon, hold out on, hopping John, Huascarán, hyperon, Isfahan, isochron, Kublai Khan, Kyrgyzstan, lay eyes on, Lebanon, leprechaun, liaison, Lipizzan, load up on, logion, looker-on, macédoine, marathon, Marathon, marzipan, mastodon, Mazatlán, Miquelon, miss out on, morion, move in on, myrmidon, nonagon, noumenon, nucleon, Oberon, octagon, off and on, omicron, Oregon, organon, ostracon, Pakistan, Palawan, pantheon, Parmesan, parmigiana, Parthenon, peloton, pentagon, pentathlon, Percheron, Phlegethon, Phocion, pick up on, polygon, positron, Procyon, put-upon, Rajasthan, Ramadan, ride herd on, run low on, run out on, run upon, set eyes on, set foot on, set upon, silicon, sneak up on, Süleyman, tachyon, Taiyuan, talkathon, telamon, telethon, thereupon, tie one on, triathlon, Tucumán, upsilon, virion, walkathon, walk out on, whereupon, woebegone, work upon, Yerevan, Xiangtan, Zahedan