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nonpareil - 7 dictionary results

non⋅pa⋅reil

[non-puh-rel]
–adjective
1. having no equal; peerless.
–noun
2. a person or thing having no equal.
3. a small pellet of colored sugar for decorating candy, cake, and cookies.
4. a flat, round, bite-sized piece of chocolate covered with this sugar.
5. painted bunting.
6. Printing.
a. a 6-point type.
b. a slug occupying 6 points of space between lines.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME nonparaille < MF nonpareil, equiv. to non- non- + pareil equal < VL *pariculum (L pari- (s. of pār) equal + -culum -cule 1 )


1. unparalleled. 2. nonesuch.


1. ordinary.
non·pa·reil   (nŏn'pə-rěl')   
adj.  Having no equal; peerless: the Yankees' nonpareil center fielder.
n.  
  1. A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon.
  2. See painted bunting.
  3. A small, flat chocolate drop covered with white pellets of sugar.

[Middle English nounparalle, from Old French nonpareil : non-, non- + pareil, equal (from Vulgar Latin *pariculus, diminutive of Latin pār, equal; see perə-2 in Indo-European roots).]
painted bunting  
n.  A small finch (Passerina ciris) of the southern United States and Mexico, the male of which has brilliant multicolored plumage. Also called nonpareil.

Nonpareil

Non`pa*reil"\, n. [See Nonpareil, a. ]

1. Something of unequaled excellence; a peerless thing or person; a nonesuch; -- often used as a name.

2. [F. nonpareille.] (Print.) A size of type next smaller than minion and next larger than agate (or ruby).

Note: This line is printed in the type called nonpareil.

3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A beautifully colored finch (Passerina ciris), native of the Southern United States. The male has the head and neck deep blue, rump and under parts bright red, back and wings golden green, and the tail bluish purple. Called also painted finch. (b) Any other similar bird of the same genus.

Nonpareil

Non`pa*reil"\, a. [F., from non not + pareil equal, fr. LL. pariculus, dim. of L. par equal. See Non, and Pair, Peer.] Having no equal; peerless.

nonpareil 
1477 (adj.), "having no equal," from M.Fr. nonpareil "unequalled," from non- "not" + pareil "equal." The noun meaning "an unequaled person or thing" is from 1593; first applied to a kind of candy 1697. As the name of a printing type (6 point size) it is attested from 1647.

Nonpareil
One of five pedagogical languages based on Markov algorithms, used in ["Nonpareil, a Machine Level Machine Independent Language for the Study of Semantics", B. Higman, ULICS Intl Report No ICSI 170, U London (1968)]. The others were Brilliant, Diamond, Pearl and Ruby.

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