Paragons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ideal example or model of excellence in a particular quality or attribute
2. A person or thing regarded as a perfect embodiment of a specific virtue or characteristic
3. A standard of perfection that serves as a reference point for comparison and aspiration

Etymology: The word "paragon" began as a metalworker's test. Its Old Italian ancestor, "paragonare", meant "to test on a touchstone," the dark stone on which gold or silver was rubbed to judge its purity by the streak left behind. Comparing a metal against a trusted sample was the whole point, which is why a reference standard became the core of the sense. That Italian verb is often traced to Greek "parakonan," meaning "to sharpen" or "to whet," built from "para" (beside) and "akone" (whetstone). The link to sharpening is uncertain, so it is best read as a plausible but unconfirmed ancestry. The Middle French form "paragon" carried the sense of comparison into English, where it came to mean a model of excellence rather than a test of metal. "Paragons" is simply the plural, so people or things that are each held up as the standard for others.

Synonyms: models, exemplars, ideals, standards, paradigms

Antonyms: failures, flaws, deviants, aberrations, exceptions