proprietary

American  

[pruh-prahy-i-ter-ee] / prəˈpraɪ ɪˌtɛr i /

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. (of a brand name, product, service, formula, etc.) protected by a patent, copyright, or trademark.

   proprietary drugs; a proprietary name; a proprietary logo; a proprietary blend of ingredients.

6. privately owned and operated for profit.

   proprietary hospitals.

---

noun

plural

proprietaries

1. an owner or proprietor.

2. a body of proprietors.

3. American History. the grantee or owner, or one of the grantees or owners, of a proprietary colony.

4. ownership.

5. something owned, especially real estate.

6. a proprietary medicine.

7. Also called proprietary school.  a school organized as a profit-making venture primarily to teach vocational skills or self-improvement techniques.

proprietary British  

/ prəˈpraɪɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to property or proprietors

2. privately owned and controlled

3. med of or denoting a drug or agent manufactured and distributed under a trade name Compare ethical

---

noun

1. med a proprietary drug or agent

2. a proprietor or proprietors collectively

3. 1. right to property

   2. property owned

4. Also called: lord proprietary.  (in Colonial America) an owner, governor, or grantee of a proprietary colony

Other Word Forms

• nonproprietary adjective
• proprietarily adverb

Etymology

Origin of proprietary

1400–50; late Middle English (noun) < Medieval Latin proprietārius owner, noun use of Late Latin: of an owner, of ownership. See propriety, -ary

Example Sentences

The mathematics are proprietary, but Hassibi said the effect was much like compressing a digital photograph without losing visual fidelity.

From The Wall Street Journal

Security is anchored in a proprietary protocol and server technology that runs entirely in RAM to ensure all data is wiped upon reboot.

From Salon

Just last September, the company launched TuneLab, a machine learning platform that allows external biotechs to access Lilly’s proprietary drug discovery models.

From Barron's

The rule proposed Monday makes clear that so-called continuation funds, where a firm buys a fund from its own affiliate using its own proprietary valuation methods, wouldn’t be eligible for the Labor Department’s safe harbor.

From The Wall Street Journal

Chief among them is getting the right mix of calcium oxide and its proprietary binding agent, so the pellets effectively store energy while holding their shape over many charge-discharge cycles.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• antidote
• drug
• elixir
• fix
• healing
• medication
• medicine
• panacea
• placebo
• quick fix
• recovery
• remedy
• treatment