Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
Definition of proper - 6 dictionary results

prop⋅er

  [prop-er]
Use proper in a Sentence
–adjective
1. adapted or appropriate to the purpose or circumstances; fit; suitable: the proper time to plant strawberries.
2. conforming to established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous: a very proper young man.
3. fitting; right: It was only proper to bring a gift.
4. strictly belonging or applicable: the proper place for a stove.
5. belonging or pertaining exclusively or distinctly to a person, thing, or group.
6. strict; accurate.
7. in the strict sense of the word (usually used postpositively): Shellfish do not belong to the fishes proper. Is the school within Boston proper or in the suburbs?
8. Grammar.
a. (of a name, noun, or adjective) designating a particular person or thing and written in English with an initial capital letter, as Joan, Chicago, Monday, American.
b. having the force or function of a proper name: a proper adjective.
9. normal or regular.
10. belonging to oneself or itself; own.
11. Chiefly British Informal. complete or thorough: a proper thrashing.
12. Ecclesiastical. used only on a particular day or festival: the proper introit.
13. Heraldry. (of a device) depicted in its natural colors: an oak tree proper.
14. Informal.
a. excellent; capital; fine.
b. good-looking or handsome.
15. Mathematics. (of a subset of a set) not equal to the whole set.
16. Archaic. of good character; respectable.
–adverb
17. Informal. thoroughly; completely.
–noun
18. Ecclesiastical. a special office or special parts of an office appointed for a particular day or time.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME propre < OF < L proprius one's own

Related forms:
prop⋅er⋅ly, adverb
prop⋅er⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. suited. 2, 3. meet, befitting, becoming, decent, polite. 5. special, individual, peculiar. 6. precise, exact, just, formal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To proper
prop·er   (prŏp'ər)   
adj.  
  1. Characterized by appropriateness or suitability; fitting: the proper knife for cutting bread; not a proper moment for a joke.
  2. Called for by rules or conventions; correct: the proper form for a business letter.
  3. Strictly following rules or conventions, especially in social behavior; seemly: a proper lady; a proper gentleman.
    1. Belonging to one; own: restored to his proper shape by the magician.
    2. Characteristically belonging to the being or thing in question; peculiar: an optical effect proper to fluids.
  5. Being within the strictly limited sense, as of a term designating something: the town proper, excluding the suburbs.
  6. Ecclesiastical For use in the liturgy of a particular feast or season of the year.
  7. Mathematics Of or relating to a subset of a given set when the set has at least one element not in the subset.
  8. Worthy of the name; true: wanted a proper dinner, not just a snack.
  9. Out-and-out; thorough: a proper whipping.
adv.  Thoroughly: beat the eggs good and proper.
n.   Ecclesiastical also Proper
The parts of the liturgy that vary according to the particular feast or season of the year.

[Middle English propre, from Old French, from Latin proprius; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]
prop'er·ly adv., prop'er·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Proper

Prop"er\, a. [OE. propre, F. propre, fr. L. proprius. Cf. Appropriate.]

1. Belonging to one; one's own; individual. "His proper good" [i. e., his own possessions]. --Chaucer. "My proper son." --Shak.

Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, Betwixt true valor and an empty boast. --Dryden.

2. Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular; as, every animal has his proper instincts and appetites.

Those high and peculiar attributes . . . which constitute our proper humanity. --Coleridge.

3. Befitting one's nature, qualities, etc.; suitable in all respect; appropriate; right; fit; decent; as, water is the proper element for fish; a proper dress.

The proper study of mankind is man. --Pope.

In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play, All proper to the spring, and sprightly May. --Dryden.

4. Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome. [Archaic] "Thou art a proper man." --Chaucer.

Moses . . . was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child. --Heb. xi. 23.

5. Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to common; as, a proper name; Dublin is the proper name of a city.

6. Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper.

7. (Her.) Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.

In proper, individually; privately. [Obs.] --Jer. Taylor.

Proper flower or corolla (Bot.), one of the single florets, or corollets, in an aggregate or compound flower.

Proper fraction (Arith.) a fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator.

Proper nectary (Bot.), a nectary separate from the petals and other parts of the flower. -- Proper noun (Gram.), a name belonging to an individual, by which it is distinguished from others of the same class; -- opposed to common noun; as, John, Boston, America.

Proper perianth or involucre (Bot.), that which incloses only a single flower.

Proper receptacle (Bot.), a receptacle which supports only a single flower or fructification.

Proper

Prop"er\, adv. Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloq & Vulgar]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : proper
Spanish: correcto, adecuado,
German: richtig,
Japanese: きちんとした
More Translations »

proper 
c.1225, "adapted to some purpose, fit, apt" (implied in properly), from O.Fr. propre (11c.), from L. proprius "one's own, particular to itself," from pro privo "for the individual." Proper name "belonging to or relating to the person or thing in question," is from c.1290, a sense also preserved in astronomical proper motion (c.1300). Meaning "socially appropriate" is first recorded 1704.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: prop·er
Function: adjective
: marked by fitness or correctness; especially : being in accordance with established procedure, law, jurisdiction, or standards of care, fairness, and justice proper purpose for examining its records> —prop·er·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see proper on Thesaurus | Reference