Meaning

noun model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal

noun colored beads of sugar used as a topping on e.g. candies and cookies

noun a flat disk of chocolate covered with beads of colored sugar

originFrom Late Middle English non-parail (“unparalleled, nonpareil”) [and other forms], from Middle French nonpareille, nonpareil (“unparalleled”) (obsolete), from non- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + pareil (“alike, like, same”). Pareil is derived from Old French pareil, from Late Latin pāriculus (“equal; like; of a number: even”), from Latin pār (“equal; like; of a number: even; suitable”) + -culus (a…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0