Adjacent Words

Proper definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PROP'ER, a. [L. proprius, supposed to be allied to prope, near.]
1. Peculiar; naturally or essentially belonging to a person or thing; not common. That is not proper, which is common to many. Every animal has his proper instincts and inclinations, appetites and habits. Every muscle and vessel of the body has its proper office. Every art has it proper rules. Creation is the proper work of an Almighty Being.
2. Particularly suited to. Every animal lives in his proper element.
3. One's own. It may be joined with any possessive pronoun; as our proper son.
Our proper conceptions.
Now learn the difference at your proper cost.
[Note. Own is often used in such phrases; "at your own proper cost." This is really tautological, but sanctioned by usage, and expressive of emphasis.]
4. Noting an individual; pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; as a proper name. Dublin is the proper name of a city.
5. Fit; suitable; adapted; accommodated. A thin dress is not proper for clothing in a cold climate. Stimulants are proper remedies for debility. Gravity of manners is very proper for persons of advanced age.
In Athens, all was pleasure,mirth and play
All proper to the spring and sprightly May.
6. Correct; just; as a proper word; a proper expression.
7. Not figurative.
8. Well formed; handsome.
Moses was a proper child. Hebrews 11.
9. Tall; lusty; handsome with bulk. [Low and not used.]
10. In vulgar language, very; as proper good; proper sweet. [This is very improper, as well as vulgar.]
Proper receptacle, in botany, that which supports only a single flower or fructification; proper perianth or involucre, that which incloses only a single flower; proper flower or corol, one of the single florets or corollets in an aggregate or compound flower; proper nectary, separate form the petals and other parts of the flower.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness; "proper medical treatment"; "proper manners" [ant: improper]
2: having all the qualities typical of the thing specified; "wanted a proper dinner; not just a snack"; "he finally has a proper job"
3: limited to the thing specified; "the city proper"; "his claim is connected with the deed proper"
4: appropriate for a condition or purpose or occasion or a person's character, needs; "everything in its proper place"; "the right man for the job"; "she is not suitable for the position" [syn: proper, right]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English propre proper, own, from Anglo-French, from Latin proprius own Date: 14th century 1. a. referring to one individual only b. belonging to one ; own c. appointed for the liturgy of a particular day d. represented heraldically in natural color 2. belonging characteristically to a species or individual ; peculiar 3. chiefly dialect good-looking, handsome 4. very good ; excellent 5. chiefly British utter, absolute 6. strictly limited to a specified thing, place, or idea <the city proper> 7. a. strictly accurate ; correct b. archaic virtuous, respectable c. strictly decorous ; genteel 8. marked by suitability, rightness, or appropriateness ; fit 9. being a mathematical subset (as a subgroup) that does not contain all the elements of the inclusive set from which it is derived Synonyms: see fit • properly adverb • properness noun II. noun Date: 15th century 1. the parts of the Mass that vary according to the liturgical calendar 2. the part of a missal or breviary containing the proper of the Mass and the offices proper to the holy days of the liturgical year III. adverb Date: 15th century chiefly dialect in a thorough manner ; completely

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., adv., & n. --adj. 1 a accurate, correct (in the proper sense of the word; gave him the proper amount). b fit, suitable, right (at the proper time; do it the proper way). 2 decent; respectable, esp. excessively so (not quite proper). 3 (usu. foll. by to) belonging or relating exclusively or distinctively (with the respect proper to them). 4 (usu. placed after noun) strictly so called; real; genuine (this is the crypt, not the cathedral proper). 5 colloq. thorough; complete (had a proper row about it). 6 (usu. placed after noun) Heraldry in the natural, not conventional, colours (a peacock proper). 7 archaic (of a person) handsome; comely. 8 (usu. with possessive pronoun) archaic own (with my proper eyes). --adv. Brit. dial. or colloq. 1 completely; very (felt proper daft). 2 (with reference to speech) in a genteel manner (learn to talk proper). --n. Eccl. the part of a service that varies with the season or feast. Phrases and idioms: proper fraction a fraction that is less than unity, with the numerator less than the denominator. proper motion Astron. the part of the apparent motion of a fixed star etc. that is due to its actual movement in space relative to the sun. proper noun (or name) Gram. a name used for an individual person, place, animal, country, title, etc., and spelt with a capital letter, e.g. Jane, London, Everest. proper psalms (or lessons etc.) psalms or lessons etc. appointed for a particular day. Derivatives: properness n. Etymology: ME f. OF propre f. L proprius one's own, special

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Proper Prop"er, adv. Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloq & Vulgar]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. You use proper to describe things that you consider to be real and satisfactory rather than inadequate in some way. Two out of five people lack a proper job... I always cook a proper evening meal. ADJ: ADJ n 2. The proper thing is the one that is correct or most suitable. The Supreme Court will ensure that the proper procedures have been followed... He helped to put things in their proper place. = right ? wrong ADJ: ADJ n 3. If you say that a way of behaving is proper, you mean that it is considered socially acceptable and right. In those days it was not thought entirely proper for a woman to be on the stage... = fitting ? improper ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 4. You can add proper after a word to indicate that you are referring to the central and most important part of a place, event, or object and want to distinguish it from other things which are not regarded as being important or central to it. A distinction must be made between archaeology proper and science-based archaeology. ADJ: n ADJ

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

prop'-er: For the King James Version "proper" (child), in Heb 11:23, the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "goodly"; in 1Ch 29:3; 1Co 7:7, the Revised Version (British and American) "own" is employed, and for the too emphatic "their proper tongue" in Ac 1:19 "their language" is written. But none of the King James Version forms are really obsolete.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Particular, peculiar, individual, special, specific. 2. Fit, fitting, befitting, suitable, appropriate, meet, seemly, convenient, adapted, becoming, right, legitimate. 3. Exact, accurate, precise, correct, just, formal. 4. Real, actual, properly so called. 5. Decent, respectable. 6. Own, belonging to. 7. Natural, original.

Moby Thesaurus

Christian, OK, absolute, accepted, accommodated to, according to, according to Hoyle, accurate, acknowledged, adapted, adapted to, adjusted to, admitted, advantageous, advisable, after, agreeable to, agreeably to, all right, alone, answerable to, applicable, apposite, appropriate, approved, apropos, apt, arrant, au fait, authentic, authoritative, balanced, banausic, becoming, befitting, being done, beneficial, blamed, by, canonical, capable, characteristic, civil, classical, comely, comme il faut, commodious, competent, complete, condign, conformable, conformable to, conforming, conformist, confounded, congruent with, congruous, consistent with, consummate, convenient, conventional, correct, crashing, crass, customary, de rigueur, dead right, decent, decided, decorous, defensible, definitive, delicate, deserved, desirable, desired, diagnostic, dignified, distinct, distinctive, distinguished, downright, due, egregious, elegant, employable, equitable, established, evangelical, even, evenhanded, exact, expected, expedient, fair, fair and square, faithful, faultless, favorable, feasible, felicitous, firm, fit, fitten, fitting, flagrant, flawless, formal, fructuous, functional, genteel, gentlemanly, glaring, good, good for, gross, happy, helpful, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, in accordance with, in agreement with, in character, in compliance with, in conformity with, in correspondence to, in harmony with, in keeping with, in line with, in lock-step with, in obedience to, in step with, in uniformity with, individual, infernal, inspired, intolerable, intrinsic, just, just right, justifiable, justified, kosher, ladylike, lawful, legal, letter-perfect, level, likely, literal, marked, meet, meet and right, merited, meticulous, modest, nice, normal, normative, of general utility, of help, of service, of the faith, of use, okay, only, opportune, orthodox, orthodoxical, out-and-out, outright, own, particular, peculiar, per, perfect, polite, politic, positive, practical, pragmatical, precious, precise, prig, priggish, prissy, profitable, profound, pronounced, proper to, prudish, punctilious, puritanical, qualified, quintessential, rank, received, recognized, recommendable, refined, regular, respectable, respective, right, right and proper, righteous, rightful, rigorous, satisfactory, scriptural, seasonable, seemly, sensible, separate, serviceable, shattering, shocking, single, singular, solely, sortable, sound, special, specific, square, standard, stark, stark-staring, straight, straight-up-and-down, straitlaced, strictly speaking, stuffy, suitable, suitable for, suited, superlative, surpassing, textual, the veriest, thorough, thoroughgoing, timely, to be desired, total, traditional, traditionalistic, true, true to form, true-blue, unbearable, unconscionable, undeniable, unequivocal, uniform with, unique, unmitigated, unqualified, unrelieved, unspoiled, urbane, useful, usual, utilitarian, utter, warrantable, warranted, well-chosen, well-expressed, well-put, well-timed, wicked, wise, worthwhile