Paragon
mid 16th century: from obsolete French, from Italian paragone ‘touchstone to try good (gold) from bad’, from medieval Greek parakonē ‘whetstone’.
wiktionary
From Anglo-Norman paragone, peragone, Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone(“comparison”) or Spanish parangón, from paragonare, from Ancient Greek παρακονάω(parakonáō, “I sharpen, whet”), from παρά(pará) + ἀκόνη(akónē, “whetstone”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-(“sharp”)).
etymonline
paragon (n.)
"a model or pattern of special excellence or perfection; a person of supreme merit or excellence," 1540s, from French paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c., Modern French parangon), from Italian paragone, originally "touchstone to test gold" (early 14c.), from paragonare "to test on a touchstone, compare," from Greek parakonan "to sharpen, whet," from para- "on the side" (see para- (1)) + akonē "whetstone" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce").
