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definitions

proper

[prop-er]
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adjective

adverb

Informal. thoroughly; completely.

noun

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

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RELATED WORDS

good, useful, decent, fitting, appropriate, legitimate, convenient, precise, respectable, moral, correct, polite, accurate, usual, exact, formal, specific, special, able, applicable

Nearby words

  1. propension,
  2. propensity,
  3. propenyl,
  4. propenyl group,
  5. propepsin,
  6. proper adjective,
  7. proper fasciculus,
  8. proper fraction,
  9. proper function,
  10. proper motion

Origin of proper

1250–1300; Middle English propre < Old French < Latin proprius one's own
Related formsprop·er·ly, adverbprop·er·ness, nounun·prop·er, adjectiveun·prop·er·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for proper

British Dictionary definitions for proper

proper

adjective

(usually prenominal) appropriate or suited for some purposein its proper place
correct in behaviour or conduct
excessively correct in conduct; vigorously moral
up to a required or regular standard
(immediately postpositive) (of an object, quality, etc) referred to or named specifically so as to exclude anything not directly connected with ithis claim is connected with the deed proper
(postpositive foll by to) belonging to or characteristic of a person or thing
(prenominal) British informal (intensifier)I felt a proper fool
(usually postpositive) (of heraldic colours) considered correct for the natural colour of the object or emblem depictedthree martlets proper
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 setSee also strict (def. 6)
archaic pleasant or good

adverb

British dialect (intensifier)he's proper stupid
good and proper informal thoroughlyto get drunk good and proper

noun

the parts of the Mass that vary according to the particular day or feast on which the Mass is celebratedCompare ordinary (def. 10)
Derived Formsproperly, adverbproperness, noun

Word Origin for proper

C13: via Old French from Latin prōprius special
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for proper

proper

adj.

c.1300, "adapted to some purpose, fit, apt; commendable, excellent" (sometimes ironic), from Old French propre "own, particular; exact, neat, fitting, appropriate" (11c.), from Latin proprius "one's own, particular to itself," from pro privo "for the individual, in particular," from ablative of privus "one's own, individual" (see private (adj.)) + pro "for" (see pro-). Related: Properly.

From early 14c. as "belonging or pertaining to oneself; individual; intrinsic;" from mid-14c. as "pertaining to a person or thing in particular, special, specific; distinctive, characteristic;" also "what is by the rules, correct, appropriate, acceptable." From early 15c. as "separate, distinct; itself." Meaning "socially appropriate, decent, respectable" is first recorded 1704. Proper name "name belonging to or relating to the person or thing in question," is from late 13c., a sense also preserved in astronomical proper motion (c.1300). Proper noun is from c.1500.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper