Word of the Day
Nonpareil
Pronunciation 
[nahn-pÉ™-REL]
Part of speech
Adjective or Noun
Origin
French, early 16th century
Definition(s)
Adjective
- Having no equal; peerless: the Pirates' nonpareil center fielder.
- Designating the smallest, most flavorful variety of pickled caper.
Noun
- A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon
2a. A small pellet of variously colored sugar used to decorate or give texture to sweets.
2b. A small, flat chocolate drop covered with these pellets.
Used in a sentence
- In my opinion, 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' is the nonpareil of the Harry Potter series.
- I always indulge in a box of nonpareils when I go to the movies.
About the Word
The Latin breakdown of this word is pretty simple. “Non” means not, and “pareil” is equal. But the unequal description means that the nonpareil is leaps and bounds better; it’s so good that there can be no equal.
Did you know?
We agree that the nonpareil is quite unparalleled when it comes to chocolate treats, and you might love them even more when you find out how easy they are to make. Melt some bittersweet chocolate and mix it with a dab of vegetable shortening. Then spoon coin-sized circles of chocolate onto a baking sheet. Top with sprinkles, then cool until hard. Now you have your very own stash of nonpareils.
Popularity Over Time
The Word of the Day can also be found in the following places:
Courtesy of Wordgenius.com and AHDictionary.com
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