Proper

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Adverb
• HYPHEN: prop=er

CIDE DICTIONARY

Proper, a. [OE. propre, F. propre, fr. L. proprius. Cf. Appropriate.].

•  Belonging to one; one's own; individual.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "Now learn the difference, at your proper cost,
  Betwixt true valor and an empty boast."  [1913 Webster]
•  Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular; as, every animal has his proper instincts and appetites.  [1913 Webster]

  "Those high and peculiar attributes . . . which constitute our proper humanity."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "The proper study of mankind is man."  [1913 Webster]

  "In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play,
  All proper to the spring, and sprightly May."  [1913 Webster]
•  Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

  "Moses . . . was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper.  [1913 Webster]
•  Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.  [1913 Webster]

In proper, individually; privately. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. -- Proper flower or Proper 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 Proper involucre (Bot.), that which incloses only a single flower. -- Proper receptacle (Bot.), a receptacle which supports only a single flower or fructification.

Proper, adv. 

 Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Proper, 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.

Idiom

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.

Derivative

properness n.

Etymology

ME f. OF propre f. L proprius one's own, special

THESAURUS

Proper

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

ROGET THESAURUS

Proper

Expedience

N expedience, expediency, desirableness, desirability, fitness, utility, propriety, opportunism, advantage, high time, expedient, desirable, advisable, acceptable, convenient, worth while, meet, fit, fitting, due, proper, eligible, seemly, becoming, befitting, opportune, in loco, suitable, applicable, in the right place, conveniently, operae pretium est.

Speciality

N speciality, specialite, individuality, individuity, particularity, peculiarity, idiocrasy, personality, characteristic, mannerism, idiosyncrasy, specificness, singularity, reading, version, lection, state, trait, distinctive feature, technicality, differentia, particulars, details, items, counts, minutiae, I, self, I myself, myself, himself, herself, itself, special, particular, individual, specific, proper, personal, original, private, respective, definite, determinate, especial, certain, esoteric, endemic, partial, party, peculiar, appropriate, several, characteristic, diagnostic, exclusive, singular, idiomatic, idiotypical, typical, this, that, yon, yonder, specially, especially, particularly, in particular, in propria persona, ad hominem, for my part, each, apiece, one by one, one at a time, severally, respectively, each to each, seriatim, in detail, in great detail, in excruciating detail, in mind-numbing detail, bit by bit, pro hac vice, pro re nata, namely, that is to say, for example, id est, exemplia gratia, e, g, i, e, videlicet, viz, to wit, le style est l'homme meme.

Beauty

N beauty, the beautiful, to kalon, le beau ideal, aesthetics, callaesthetics, pulchritude, form, elegance, grace, beauty unadorned, natural beauty, symmetry, comeliness, fairness, polish, gloss, good effect, good looks, belle tournure, trigness, bloom, brilliancy, radiance, splendor, gorgeousness, magnificence, sublimity, sublimification, concinnity, delicacy, refinement, charm, je ne sais quoi, style, Venus, Aphrodite, Hebe, the Graces, Peri, Houri, Cupid, Apollo, Hyperion, Adonis, Antionous, Narcissus, peacock, butterfly, garden, flower of, pink of, bijou, jewel, work of art, flower, flow'ret gay, wildflower, rose, lily, anemone, asphodel, buttercup, crane's bill, daffodil, tulip, tiger lily, day lily, begonia, marigold, geranium, lily of the valley, ranunculus, rhododendron, windflower, pleasurableness, beautifying, landscaping, landscape gardening, decoration, calisthenics, beauty, hunk (of men), beautiful, beauteous, handsome, gorgeous, pretty, lovely, graceful, elegant, prepossessing, attractive, delicate, dainty, refined, fair, personable, comely, seemly, bonny, good-looking, well-favored, well-made, well-formed, well- proportioned, proper, shapely, symmetrical, harmonious, sightly, fit to be seen, passable, not amiss, goodly, dapper, tight, jimp, gimp, janty, jaunty, trig, natty, quaint, trim, tidy, neat, spruce, smart, tricksy, bright, bright eyed, rosy cheeked, cherry cheeked, rosy, ruddy, blooming, in full bloom, brilliant, shining, beamy, beaming, sparkling, splendid, resplendent, dazzling, glowing, glossy, sleek, rich, superb, magnificent, grand, fine, sublime, showy, specious, artistic, artistical, aesthetic, picturesque, pictorial, fait a peindre, well-composed, well grouped, well varied, curious, enchanting becoming, ornamental, undeformed, undefaced, unspotted, spotless, auxilium non leve vultus habet, beauty born of murmuring sound, flowers preach to us if we will hear, gratior ac pulchro veniens in corpore virtus, none but the brave deserve the fair, thou who hast the fatal gift of beauty.

Dueness

N due, dueness, right, privilege, prerogative, prescription, title, claim, pretension, demand, birthright, immunity, license, liberty, franchise, vested interest, vested right, sanction, authority, warranty, charter, warrant, constitution, tenure, bond, claimant, appellant, plaintiff, having a right to, entitled to, claiming, deserving, meriting, worthy of, privileged, allowed, sanctioned, warranted, authorized, ordained, prescribed, constitutional, chartered, enfranchised, prescriptive, presumptive, absolute, indefeasible, unalienable, inalienable, imprescriptible, inviolable, unimpeachable, unchallenged, sacrosanct, due to, merited, deserved, condign, richly deserved, allowable, lawful, licit, legitimate, legal, legalized, square, unexceptionable, right, equitable, due, en r gle, fit, fitting, correct, proper, meet, befitting, becoming, seemly, decorous, creditable, up to the mark, right as a trivet, just the thing, quite the thing, selon les r gles, duly, ex officio, de jure, by right, by divine right, jure divino, Dei gratia, in the name of, civis Romanus sum, +a chaque saint sa chandelle.