paragon

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂eḱ-“sharp”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromπαρακονᾶν“to sharpen, whet”
3. Old Italian · derived fromparagone
4. Middle French · borrowed fromparagon
5. English todayparagon

Borrowed from Middle French paragon, paragone, from Old Italian paragone, from paragonare (“to test on a touchstone”), perhaps from Ancient Greek παρακονᾶν (parakonân, “to sharpen, whet”), from παρά- (pará-) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone, sharpening stone”), from ἀκή (akḗ, “point, edge”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 16th c. A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model for others.
• 16th–19th c. A companion; a match; an equal.
• 16th–17th c. Comparison; competition.
• from 18th c. The size of type between great primer and double pica, standardized as 20-point.