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Paragon Has Old Italian and Greek Roots
Paragon derives from the Old Italian word paragone, which literally means "touchstone." A touchstone is a black stone that was formerly used to judge the purity of gold or silver. The metal was rubbed on the stone and the color of the streak it left indicated its quality. In modern English, both touchstone and paragon have come to signify a standard against which something should be judged. Ultimately, paragon comes from the Greek parakonan, meaning "to sharpen," from the prefix para- ("alongside of") and akonē, meaning "whetstone."
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Examples of paragon in a Sentence
Suleman Anaya, New York Times, 3 May 2024
The Netflix show doesn't dig as deep as Tom Wolfe's novel
All of this is portrayed through the lens of Atlanta society, of which Charlie and his much younger wife Serena (Sarah Jones) are paragons, at least for now.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 2 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for paragon 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paragon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Paragon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paragon. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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