proprietary

[pruh-prahy-i-ter-ee]

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

/ 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

• proprietarily adverb
• nonproprietary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of proprietary¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of proprietary¹

C15: from Late Latin proprietārius an owner, from proprius one's own

Example Sentences

It added that it "our proprietary AI tools, which recommend content to keep our audiences with us for longer, drove an additional 10% of our page views".

From BBC

The events of “Alien: Earth” stem from a proprietary battle between Weyland-Yutani, the film franchise’s star corporation, and Prodigy, introduced in the show.

From Salon

Because Gotham is proprietary, the public, and even elected officials, cannot see how its algorithms weigh certain data points or why they highlight certain connections.

From Salon

"We sometimes overvalue the role of proprietary software in our organisations," Mr Maisto says, pointing out that for key services like word processing and email, open-source solutions work just fine.

From BBC

And even if it did, Sadat added, it’s unclear whether his testimony would even be released publicly, given that large swaths of redactions in the original lawsuit of seemingly proprietary business information.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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