What does paragram mean?
Paragram is a rare historical word meaning an exceptionally fine example or model of some quality. It could refer to a person admired for embodying a virtue or to a thing considered exemplary in beauty, wisdom, courage, or another admirable respect. Its modern appearance is most likely encountered in older literature, reference works, or discussions of spelling variants rather than in ordinary contemporary speech. The standard English word with the same meaning is paragon, which is far more familiar and remains the appropriate form for general use. Paragram is nevertheless worth knowing because it illustrates how older spellings can preserve a word's history while largely disappearing from everyday vocabulary. It also reveals the word's connection with a wider family of English terms derived from Greek gramma, meaning writing or a written mark.
nounA model of excellence; a paragon.
- A person or thing regarded as an outstanding model of a quality or virtue.
"Her patience and generosity made her a paragram of the ideal teacher."
"The scholar was long regarded as a paragram of intellectual rigor."
"The novel offers its heroine as a paragram of moral courage."
The plural is formed by adding -s, though the headword is rare in contemporary usage.
"The biographies portray them as paragrams of artistic devotion."
Paragram survives as a spelling fossil: change the final m to n and the once-standard word paragon becomes its familiar modern relative.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does paragram come from?
The word ultimately derives from Greek parágramma, formed from para-, meaning beside, and gramma, a letter or writing. The form passed through Latin and appeared in English as a historical variant of paragon, which ultimately has the same Greek foundation but is now the established modern English word.
How paragram is actually used
Paragram is rare and chiefly historical. The modern standard form is paragon.
Easily confused with paragram
Paragram is a rare historical spelling or variant of paragon, the standard modern word for an outstanding model of excellence.