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proprietary

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pro⋅pri⋅e⋅tar⋅y

  [pruh-prahy-i-ter-ee] adjective, noun, plural -tar⋅ies.
Use proprietary in a Sentence
–adjective
1. belonging to a proprietor.
2. being a proprietor; holding property: the proprietary class.
3. pertaining to property or ownership: proprietary wealth.
4. belonging or controlled as property.
5. manufactured and sold only by the owner of the patent, formula, brand name, or trademark associated with the product: proprietary medicine.
6. privately owned and operated for profit: proprietary hospitals.
–noun
7. an owner or proprietor.
8. a body of proprietors.
9. American History. the grantee or owner, or one of the grantees or owners, of a proprietary colony.
10. ownership.
11. something owned, esp. real estate.
12. a proprietary medicine.
13. Also called proprietary school. a school organized as a profit-making venture primarily to teach vocational skills or self-improvement techniques.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME (n.) < ML proprietārius owner, n. use of LL: of an owner, of ownership. See propriety, -ary

Related forms:
pro⋅pri⋅e⋅tar⋅i⋅ly  [pruh-prahy-i-tair-i-lee, -prahy-i-ter-] , adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·pri·e·tar·y   (prə-prī'ĭ-těr'ē)   
adj.  

  1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of a proprietor or to proprietors as a group: had proprietary rights; behaved with a proprietary air in his friend's house.

  2. Exclusively owned; private: a proprietary hospital.

  3. Owned by a private individual or corporation under a trademark or patent: a proprietary drug.

n.   pl. pro·pri·e·tar·ies

  1. A proprietor.

  2. A group of proprietors.

  3. Ownership; proprietorship.

  4. A proprietary medicine.

  5. One granted ownership of a proprietary colony.


[From Middle English proprietarie, owner of property, from Old French proprietaire and from Medieval Latin proprietārius, both from Late Latin, of a property owner, from Latin proprietās, ownership; see property.]
pro·pri'e·tar'i·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

proprietary 
c.1450, "possessing worldly goods in excess of a cleric's needs," from M.L. proprietarius "owner of property," noun use of L.L. adj. proprietarius "of a property holder," from L. proprietas "owner" (see property). Meaning "held in private ownership" is first attested 1589.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: pro·pri·e·tary
Pronunciation: pr&-'prI-&-"ter-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -tar·ies
1 : something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker; specifically : a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
2 : a business secretly owned by and run as a cover for an intelligence operation

Main Entry: proprietary
Function: adjective
1 a : held as property of a private owner b : of, relating to, or characteristic of a proprietor <proprietary rights>
2 : used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right proprietary process>
3 : privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization proprietary insurer> proprietary clinic>
4 : of or relating to the acts of a municipality which profit or benefit the municipality and for which it is answerable in negligence
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1pro·pri·e·tary
Pronunciation: p(r)&-'prI-&-"ter-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -tar·ies
0 : something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker; specifically : a drug (as a patent medicine)that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture

Main Entry: 2proprietary
Function: adjective
1 : used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right proprietary drug>
2 : privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization proprietary clinic>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

proprietary pro·pri·e·tar·y (prə-prī'ĭ-těr'ē)
adj.

  1. Exclusively owned, as of a hospital.

  2. Owned by an individual or corporation under a trademark or patent, as of a drug.

n.
A proprietary medicine.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

proprietary
1. In marketroid-speak, superior; implies a product imbued with exclusive magic by the unmatched brilliance of the company's own hardware or software designers.
2. In the language of hackers and users, inferior; implies a product not conforming to open-systems standards, and thus one that puts the customer at the mercy of a vendor who can inflate service and upgrade charges after the initial sale has locked the customer in.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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