Parse & Parser

The word ‘paragon’ entered the cultural consciousness in the 16th Century.

par·a·gon

ˈperəˌɡän/

noun

noun: paragon; plural noun: paragons

1. a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality.

   “it would have taken a paragon of virtue not to feel viciously jealous”

   • a person or thing viewed as a model of excellence.

     “your cook is a paragon”

     synonyms:

     perfect example, shining example, model, epitome, archetype, ideal, exemplar, nonpareil, embodiment, personification, quintessence, apotheosis, acme; More

   • a perfect diamond of 100 carats or more.

Origin-mid 16th century: from obsolete French, from Italian paragone ‘touchstone used to discriminate good (gold) from bad,’ from medieval Greek parakonē ‘whetstone.’Original Source