Definition of proprietary
proprietaries
1 : one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something; specifically : proprietor 1
2 : something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker; specifically : a drug (such as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
3 : a business secretly owned by and run as a cover for an intelligence organization
Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Did You Know?
A proprietary process is a manufacturing process that others are forbidden to use, and a proprietary trademark is a name that only the owner can use. Legal rights of this kind are ensured by copyrights and patents. After a certain period of time, inventions and processes lose their legal protection, cease to be proprietary, and enter the "public domain", meaning that everyone can use them freely. Baseball fans often take a proprietary attitude toward their favorite team—that is, they behave more or less as if they own it, even though the only thing they may own is the right to yell from a bleacher seat till the end of a game.
Origin and Etymology of proprietary
Middle English propietarie, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin propietarius, from Late Latin, adjective —see 2proprietary
First Known Use: 15th century
Definition of proprietary
1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of an owner or title holder proprietary rights
2 : used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right a proprietary process proprietary software
3 : privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization a proprietary clinic
Examples of proprietary in a Sentence
By allowing less favorable results to remain buried, the agency puts proprietary interests ahead of the public interest, and doctors and the public come to believe prescription drugs are better than they are. That should stop. —Marcia Angell, New York Review of Books, 8 June 2006
It is a proprietary faith: no one better tell me what to do with my own land. —Lance Morrow, Time, 11 Sept. 2000
Many veterans have adopted a proprietary attitude toward the war, and they can get a bit belligerent about it. —Nicholas Proffitt, New York Times Book Review, 21 May 1989
The investors have a proprietary interest in the land.
The computer comes with the manufacturer's proprietary software.
“Merriam-Webster” is a proprietary name.
The journalist tried to get access to proprietary information.
Origin and Etymology of proprietary
Late Latin proprietarius, from Latin proprietas property — more at property
First Known Use: 1589
PROPRIETARY Defined for English Language Learners
proprietary
playDefinition of proprietary for English Language Learners
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: of or like that of an owner
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: used, made, or sold only by the particular person or company that has the legal right to do so
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: kept private by an owner
Medical Dictionary
Medical Definition of proprietary
proprietaries
: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker; specifically : a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
proprietary
Medical Definition of proprietary
1: used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right a proprietary drug
2: privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization a proprietary clinic
Law Dictionary
Legal Definition of proprietary
proprietaries
1 : something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker; specifically : a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture
2 : a business secretly owned by and run as a cover for an intelligence operation
proprietary
Legal Definition of proprietary
1a : held as property of a private owner b : of, relating to, or characteristic of a proprietor proprietary rights
2 : used, made, or marketed by one having the exclusive legal right a proprietary process
3 : privately owned and managed and run as a profit-making organization a proprietary insurer a proprietary clinic
4 : of or relating to the acts of a municipality which profit or benefit the municipality and for which it is answerable in negligence
Learn More about proprietary
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See words that rhyme with proprietary Spanish Central: Translation of proprietary Nglish: Translation of proprietary for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of proprietary for Arabic speakers
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