nonpareil

[non-puh-rel] /ˌnɒn pəˈrɛl/
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.
  1. a 6-point type.
  2. a slug occupying 6 points of space between lines.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English nonparaille < Middle French nonpareil, equivalent to non- non- + pareil equal < Vulgar Latin *pariculum (Latin pari- (stem of pār) equal + -culum -cule1)
Synonyms
1. unparalleled. 2. nonesuch.
Antonyms
1. ordinary.
Examples from the web for nonpareil
  • The food wasn't special, but the atmosphere was nonpareil.
  • The room itself was by all accounts a treasure nonpareil.
  • These grim situations attracted relentless media attention: family plus snow plus stranded equals human-interest story nonpareil.
  • The quality of ingredients and cooking style are nonpareil.
  • The plateau is a time machine nonpareil, holding who knows what secrets.
  • Even in a season that has seen one great exhibition after another, worldwide, this one is a nonpareil.
  • Look ahead to the following pages for some sneak peeks at your nonpareil comrades who have earned length of service awards.
British Dictionary definitions for nonpareil

nonpareil

/ˈnɒnpərəl; ˌnɒnpəˈreɪl/
noun
1.
a person or thing that is unsurpassed or unmatched; peerless example
2.
(formerly) a size of printers' type equal to 6 point
3.
(US) a small bead of coloured sugar used to decorate cakes, biscuits, etc
4.
(mainly US) a flat round piece of chocolate covered with this sugar
adjective
5.
having no match or equal; peerless
Word Origin
C15: from French, from non- + pareil same
Word Origin and History for nonpareil
adj.

late 15c., "having no equal," from Middle French nonpareil "unequalled, peerless," from non- "not" (see non-) + pareil "equal." The noun meaning "an unequaled person or thing" is from 1590s; first applied to a kind of candy 1690s. As the name of a printing type (6 point size) it is attested from 1640s.

nonpareil in Technology

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.