Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,733,349,458 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

paragon

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
par·a·gon  (pr-gn, -gn)
n.
1. A model of excellence or perfection of a kind; a peerless example: a paragon of virtue.
2.
a. An unflawed diamond weighing at least 100 carats.
b. A very large spherical pearl.
3. Printing A type size of 20 points.
tr.v. par·a·goned, par·a·gon·ing, par·a·gons
1. To compare; parallel.
2. To equal; match.

[Obsolete French, from Old French, from Old Italian paragone, from paragonare, to test on a touchstone, perhaps from Greek parakonn, to sharpen : para-, alongside; see para-1 + akon, whetstone; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]

paragon [ˈpærəgən]
n
1. a model of excellence; pattern a paragon of virtue
2. (Communication Arts / Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 20 point
vb (tr)
Archaic
a.  to equal or surpass
b.  to compare
c.  to regard as a paragon
[via French from Old Italian paragone comparison, from Medieval Greek parakonē whetstone, from Greek parakonan to sharpen against, from para-1 + akonan to sharpen, from akonē whetstone]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.paragon - an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept
ideal - the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain
gold standard - a paragon of excellence; "academic education is the gold standard against which other educational activity is pejoratively judged"
2.paragon - model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
crackerjack, jimdandy, jimhickey - someone excellent of their kind; "he's a jimdandy of a soldier"
role model, model - someone worthy of imitation; "every child needs a role model"
class act - someone who shows impressive and stylish excellence
humdinger - someone of remarkable excellence; "a humdinger of a secretary"

paragon
noun model, standard, pattern, ideal, criterion, norm, jewel, masterpiece, prototype, paradigm, archetype, epitome, exemplar, apotheosis, quintessence, nonesuch (archaic), nonpareil, best or greatest thing since sliced bread (informal), cynosure She was a paragon of neatness and efficiency. He was not a paragon. He could never be perfect.
Translations
paragon [ˈpærəgən] Nmodelo m, dechado m
a paragon of virtueun dechado de virtudes

paragon [ˈpærəgən] nparangon m
a paragon of virtue → un parangon de vertu

paragon
nMuster nt; a paragon of virtueein Muster ntan Tugendhaftigkeit, ein Ausbund man Tugend (hum)

paragon [ˈpærəgən] n paragon of virtuemodello di virtù
paragon [ˈpærəgən] n paragon of virtuemodello di virtù

paragon
n paragon [ˈpӕrəgən, (American ) -gon]
a perfect example of a good quality etc She is a paragon of virtue. toonbeeld مَثَل أعْلى، قُدْوَه образец vzor forbillede das Muster υπόδειγμα dechado, modelo musternäidis نمونه عالی esikuva modèle מוֹפֶת आदर्श uzor,uzoran čovjek minta(kép) teladan fyrirmynd modello 模範 모범, 본보기 pavyzdys, įsikūnijimas paraugs, etalons contoh yg unggul toonbeeld mønster wzór exemplo model образец vzor vzor uzor mönster, förebild ตัวอย่างดีเลิศ örnek kimse 模範 зразок کمال، خوبيوں کا مجموعہ mẫu mực


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
I have never met that sort of paragon myself, but I have seen these paragons advertised amongst ships for sale.
Janet would make a paragon of a wife -- cheery, economical, tolerant, and a very queen of cooks.
Whither pullest thou me now, thou paragon and tomboy?
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.