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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."
Synonyms
Examples of paragon in a Sentence
Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
Such events seek to portray China as a paragon of domestic security and normalize its approach abroad while the GSI works in parallel to offer police and law enforcement training to those who might wish to emulate China’s example.
—Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Foreign Affairs, 28 July 2023
People thought that Don was this paragon of masculinity or whatever.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 June 2024
These Hollywood dynasties: ever the paragon of healthy family life.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Apr. 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 26 Jul. 2024.
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