Main Entry: ¹prop·er

Pronunciation: \ˈprä-pər\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English propre proper, own, from Anglo-French, from Latin proprius own

Date: 14th century

1 a : referring to one individual only b : belonging to one : own c : appointed for the liturgy of a particular day d : represented heraldically in natural color
2 : belonging characteristically to a species or individual : peculiar
3 chiefly dialect : good-looking, handsome
4 : very good : excellent
5 chiefly British : utter, absolute
6 : strictly limited to a specified thing, place, or idea <the city proper>
7 a : strictly accurate : correct b archaic : virtuous, respectable c : strictly decorous : genteel
8 : marked by suitability, rightness, or appropriateness : fit
9 : being a mathematical subset (as a subgroup) that does not contain all the elements of the inclusive set from which it is derived

synonyms see fit

— prop·er·ly adverb

— prop·er·ness noun