PARAGON • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Paragon

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/pˈɛrəgˌɑn/ Listen

noun

Paragon n.

1.

A companion; a match; an equal. (Obs.) "Philoclea, who indeed had no paragon but her sister."

2.

Emulation; rivalry; competition. (Obs.) "Full many feats adventurous Performed, in paragon of proudest men."

3.

A model or pattern; especially A pattern of excellence or perfection; as, a paragon of beauty or eloquence. "Man,... the paragon of animals!" "The riches of sweet Mary's son, Boy-rabbi, Israel's paragon."

4.

(Print.) A size of type between great primer and double pica. See the Note under Type.

verb

Paragon v. t.

1.

To compare; to parallel; to put in rivalry or emulation with. (Obs.)

2.

To compare with; to equal; to rival. (R.) "In arms anon to paragon the morn, The morn new rising."

3.

To serve as a model for; to surpass. (Obs.) "He hath achieved a maid That paragons description and wild fame."

Paragon v. i. To be equal; to hold comparison. (R.) "Few or none could... paragon with her."

See images of 'Paragon'

Etymology of 'Paragon'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Paragon" Quotes from Famous Books

... was slowly working for my advantage, and paving the road to my promotion. The story had got abroad, and was in every one's mouth. I was looked upon as a paragon of moderation. ...

— The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan • James Morier

... cup to one made up Of loveliness alone, A woman, of her gentle sex The seeming paragon; To whom the better elements And kindly stars have given A form so fair that, like the air, 'Tis ...

— The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 5 (of 5) of the Raven Edition • Edgar Allan Poe

... a nurse of very remarkable character—evidently a paragon—who deeply influenced him and did much to form his young mind—Alison Cunningham, who, in his juvenile lingo, became "Cumy," and who not only was never forgotten, but to the end was treated as his "second mother." ...

— Robert Louis Stevenson - a Record, an Estimate, and a Memorial • Alexander H. Japp

... legates to preside over the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon. He sat in judgment between Vienna and Arles. He fought for the independence of the Church against emperors and barbaric chieftains. He encouraged literature and missions and schools and the spread of the Bible. He was the paragon of a bishop,—a man of transcendent dignity of character, as well as a Father of the Church Universal, of whom all Christendom should ...

— Beacon Lights of History, Volume IV • John Lord

... Paragon. Not that he is a Paragon at all, for he smokes and hunts, and does all manner of wicked things." And then she went ...

— The Small House at Allington • Anthony Trollope

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