paragon

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French paragon (“model, pattern of excellence”),^[2][3][4][5] now parangon,^[2][3][6] together with borrowed from Anglo-Norman paragone (“perfect diamond”), recorded from the 13th century.^[2] The French word is from Old Italian paragone (“touchstone; comparison”),^[2][3][7][8] which the OED dates from the second half of the 13th century in the sense of a comparison leading to a choice, and also of a touchstone.^[2] It comes from paragonare (“to test on a touchstone, compare”), recorded before 1306,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek παρακονᾶν (parakonân, “to sharpen or whet one thing against another”),^[2][6][9] formed from παρά (pará, “beside, alongside”) and ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone”),^[2][6][3] which is related to ἀκή (akḗ, “point”)^[6][7] and comes from Proto-Indo-European *ak- (“to be sharp”).^[3][9] The OED compares Byzantine Greek παρακόνη (parakónē), a smooth hard stone used to polish gold in illumination,^[2] and Oxford's other dictionaries derive the Italian noun from that Medieval Greek word.^[8][5][10] The American Heritage Dictionary calls the Greek origin only probable,^[11] Dictionary.com suggests instead the Greek present participle of a verb meaning to bring side by side,^[12] and Weekley called the word of obscure origin.^[13] parangón, recorded from 1517, is from the same Italian word.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person of outstanding merit, a model of some quality: 1548, in Hall's chronicle of the union of the houses of Lancaster and York.^[2][4] Etymonline dates it to the 1540s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Ayto calls the word a long-dead metaphor: a paragon is someone who can stand comparison with anyone, as if sharpened or tested against others; the Greek verb was also used figuratively for "compare".^[9] Weekley thought that the oldest Italian sense, in the 14th century, was "touchstone".^[13] In English the word was first used of people (1548) and then of things of outstanding value (1585).^[2] From 1557 to 1824 it also meant a match, an equal, a partner in marriage or a rival,^[2][14] a sense Johnson (1755) gave as "companion; fellow" beside "a model; a pattern".^[15] Several technical senses came through French: a perfect diamond (1558), now one of more than 99 carats; a thick wool or silk fabric of the 17th and early 18th centuries; a black Italian marble (before 1684); and in printing, a large size of type of about 20 points (1706).^[2][14][16] The verb, to compare, is recorded from before 1586, in Sidney's Arcadia,^[2][7] partly from the noun and partly from paragonner;^[2] Shakespeare used it in Othello for "to surpass".^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1548 – a person of outstanding merit, a model.^[2][4]
• 1557 – a match or equal; a partner or rival (obsolete by 1824).^[2]
• 1558 – a perfect diamond.^[2]
• 1585 – an object of outstanding quality.^[2]
• before 1586 – verb, to compare.^[2][7]
• 1593 – adjective, perfect, pre-eminent (obsolete by 1849).^[2]
• before 1616 – verb, to surpass, in Shakespeare's Othello.^[2]
• 1706 – a large size of printing type.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A model of excellence or perfection; a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a quality: She was held up as a paragon of patience.^[7][16][2]
2. A perfect diamond, especially one weighing more than 99 carats.^[2][7]
3. (printing) A large size of type, about 20 points.^[16][2]
4. (obsolete, 1557–1824) A match or equal; a companion, partner or rival.^[2][15]

Verb

1. (archaic) To compare one thing with another, or to set it in rivalry with another.^[7][16][2]
2. (obsolete) To surpass.^[7][2][16]

Word family

• paragonless

Related words

• acid
• acute

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
12. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
13. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
15. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
16. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins