paragon
noun /ˈpærəɡən/
/ˈpærəɡɑːn/
- a person who is perfect or who is a perfect example of a particular good quality
- I make no claim to be a paragon.
- He wasn't the paragon of virtue she had expected.
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from obsolete French, from Italian paragone ‘touchstone to try good (gold) from bad’, from medieval Greek parakonē ‘whetstone’.