proper

[ prop-er ]

adjective

1. adapted or appropriate to the purpose or circumstances; fit; suitable:

   the proper time to plant strawberries.

   Synonyms: suited

2. conforming to established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous:

   a very proper young man.

   Synonyms: appropriate, becoming, befitting, meet

3. fitting; right:

   It was only proper to bring a gift.

   Synonyms: appropriate, becoming, befitting, meet

4. strictly belonging or applicable:

   the proper place for a stove.

5. belonging or pertaining exclusively or distinctly to a person, thing, or group.

   Synonyms: peculiar, individual, special

6. strict; accurate:

   proper pronunciation.

   Synonyms: true, just, exact, precise

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.
   1. (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.
   2. 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.
    1. excellent; capital; fine.
    2. 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

1. Informal. thoroughly; completely.

noun

1. Ecclesiastical. a special office or special parts of an office appointed for a particular day or time.

proper

/ ˈprɒpə /

adjective

1. usually prenominal appropriate or suited for some purpose

   in its proper place

2. correct in behaviour or conduct
3. excessively correct in conduct; vigorously moral
4. up to a required or regular standard
5. immediately postpositive (of an object, quality, etc) referred to or named specifically so as to exclude anything not directly connected with it

   his claim is connected with the deed proper

6. postpositivefoll byto belonging to or characteristic of a person or thing
7. informal.
   prenominal (intensifier)

   I felt a proper fool

8. usually postpositive (of heraldic colours) considered correct for the natural colour of the object or emblem depicted

   three martlets proper

9. See strict
   maths logic (of a relation) distinguished from a weaker relation by excluding the case where the relata are identical. For example, every set is a subset of itself, but a proper subset must exclude at least one member of the containing set See also strict
10. archaic.
    pleasant or good

adverb

1. dialect.
   (intensifier)

   he's proper stupid

2. good and proper informal.
   good and proper thoroughly

   to get drunk good and proper

noun

1. See ordinary
   the parts of the Mass that vary according to the particular day or feast on which the Mass is celebrated Compare ordinary

Derived Forms

• ˈproperly, adverb
• ˈproperness, noun

Other Words From

• prop·er·ly adverb
• prop·er·ness noun
• un·prop·er adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of proper¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English propre, from Old French, from Latin proprius “one's own”

Word History and Origins

Origin of proper¹

C13: via Old French from Latin prōprius special

Example Sentences

We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.

From The Daily Beast

He could deliver a quick, effective speech, or hold a proper press conference.

From The Daily Beast

And so, he says he left prison without proper ID, just his release papers and the “dress-out gear” he was given by the state.

From The Daily Beast

But those incidents are due to mistakes and leaks, not proper fracking procedures.

From The Daily Beast

A portrait of him was done once in which the collar point was made to sit in its proper place.

From The Daily Beast

She herself had worn them in her youth, and they were the proper bonnets for "growing girls."

From Project Gutenberg

That it is a reasonable and proper thing to ask our statesmen and politicians: what is going to happen to the world?

From Project Gutenberg

And this summer it seemed to her that she never would be able to take proper care of her nestful of children.

From Project Gutenberg

Seen thus poverty became rather a blessing than a curse, or at least a dispensation prescribing the proper lot of man.

From Project Gutenberg

Not only are they required to do things in a proper orderly manner, but people have to treat them with due deference.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• appropriate
• convenient
• decent
• fitting
• good
• legitimate
• useful