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 color2: belonging characteristically to a species or individual : peculiar3chiefly dialect : good-looking, handsome4: very good : excellent5chiefly British : utter, absolute6: strictly limited to a specified thing, place, or idea <the city proper>7 a: strictly accurate : correct barchaic : virtuous, respectable c: strictly decorous : genteel8: marked by suitability, rightness, or appropriateness : fit9: 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