kalon

[ kuh-lon ]

noun
  1. (especially in ancient Greek philosophy) the ideal of beauty, especially moral goodness or nobility: He had done what was morally right and necessary, had taken possession of kalon, and thus fulfilled his destiny as a man.Achilles decides that his physical life is less important than the demands of kalon.

Origin of kalon

1
First recorded in 1745–50; from Greek kalón, neuter of kalós, “beautiful, fair”; cf. calli-

Words Nearby kalon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kalon in a sentence

  • The fruit characters of To-kalon are so similar to those of Catawba that it was hardly worthy of introduction.

    The Grapes of New York | U. P. Hedrick
  • Only a few atoms of kalon and meta-kalon have been found in the air of a fair-sized room.

    Occult Chemistry | Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
  • He agreed that the tragedy had inspired these sentiments in him, and that there was the to kalon, beauty.

  • He admitted that the tragedy had inspired him with these two sentiments, and that it was the To kalon, the beautiful.

    A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 2 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
  • The man who called himself kalon was a magnificent creature, worthy, in a physical sense, to be the pontiff of Apollo.