English

Alternative forms

• propre (obsolete)

Adjective

proper ‎(comparative more proper, superlative most proper)

1. (heading) Suitable.
   1. Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable. [from 13^thc.]

      the proper time to plant potatoes‎

      • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

        The proper study of mankind is man.

      • 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:

        One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.

   2. Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous. [from 18^thc.]

      a very proper young lady‎

      • 1915, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price, chapterI:

        This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. […] Indeed, all his features were in large mold, like the man himself, as though he had come from a day when skin garments made the proper garb of men.

2. (heading) Possessed, related.
   1. (grammar) Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper words are usually written with an initial capital letter. [from 14^thc.]
   2. Pertaining exclusively to a specific thing or person; particular. [from 14^thc.]
      • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.1.3:

        They have a proper saint almost for every peculiar infirmity: for poison, gouts, agues […].

      • Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

        those high and peculiar attributes […] which constitute our proper humanity

   3. (usually postpositive) In the strict sense; within the strict definition or core (of a specified place, taxonomic order, idea, etc).
      • 1893, Annual of the Universal Medical Sciences:

        These are divided into two great families, the vipers proper (Viperidae) and the pit-vipers (Crotalidae).

      • 1976, Eu-Yang Kwang, The political reconstruction of China, page 165:

        Siberia, though it stands outside the territorial confines of Russia proper, constitutes an essentially component part […] . Outer Mongolia, [so called] to distinguish it from Inner Mongolia, which lies nearer to China proper, revolted and declared its independence.

      • 2004, Stress, the Brain and Depression, page 24:

        Hence, this border is still blurred, raising the question whether traumatic life events induce sadness/distress – which is self-evident – or depression proper and, secondly, whether sadness/distress is a precursor or pacemaker of depression.

      • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:proper.
   4. (archaic) Belonging to oneself or itself; own. [from 14^thc.]
      • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

        my proper son

      • John Dryden (1631-1700)

        Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, / Betwixt true valour and an empty boast.

      • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.4.1.ii:

        every country, and more than that, every private place, hath his proper remedies growing in it, particular almost to the domineering and most frequent maladies of it.

      • 1946, Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, I.20:

        Each animal has its proper pleasure, and the proper pleasure of man is connected with reason.

   5. (heraldry) Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures. [from 16^thc.]
   6. (mathematics, physics) Eigen-; designating a function or value which is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue. [from 20^thc.]
3. (heading) Accurate, strictly applied.
   1. Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.) [from 14^thc.]

      Now that was a proper breakfast.‎

   2. (now regional) Attractive, elegant. [from 14^thc.]
      • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts VII:

        The same tyme was Moses borne, and was a propper [transl. ἀστεῖος ‎(asteîos)] childe in the sight of God, which was norisshed up in his fathers housse thre monethes.

   3. (often postpositive) In the very strictest sense of the word. [from 14^thc.]
      • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, Episode 16:

        Though unusual in the Dublin area he knew that it was not by any means unknown for desperadoes who had next to nothing to live on to be abroad waylaying and generally terrorising peaceable pedestrians by placing a pistol at their head in some secluded spot outside the city proper […].

   4. (now colloquial) Utter, complete. [from 15^thc.]

      When I realized I was wearing my shirt inside out, I felt a proper fool.‎

Synonyms

• (fit, suitable): correct, right, apt, prudent, sensible, fitting
• (correct, decorous): appropriate, decent, good, polite, right, well-mannered
• (fitting, right): appropriate, just, honorable
• (complete, thorough): comprehensive, royal, sweeping, intensive
• (true): full, complete
• (informal: utter): complete, right (informal), total, utter

Antonyms

• (fit, suitable): incorrect, wrong, bad, imprudent, insensible
• (correct, decorous): inappropriate, indecent, bad, impolite, wrong, ill-mannered, unseemly
• (fitting, right): inappropriate, unjust, dishonorable
• (complete, thorough): partial, incomplete, superficial, slapdash
• (true): incomplete

Related terms

• propriety
• properly

Translations

See also

• proper adjective
• proper fraction
• proper noun

Adverb

proper ‎(not comparable)

1. (Scotland) properly; thoroughly; completely
   • 1964, Saint Andrew Society (Glasgow, Scotland), The Scots magazine: Volume 82

     Don't you think you must have looked proper daft?

2. (nonstandard, slang) properly
   • 2012, Soufside, Hello (song)

     When I meet a bad chick, know I gotta tell her hello

     talk real proper, but she straight up out the ghetto

Statistics

Anagrams

• per pro

Catalan

Adjective

proper m ‎(feminine propera, masculine plural propers, feminine plural properes)

1. near, close
2. neighbouring
3. next

Synonyms

• (close): pròxim
• (next): següent
• (the coming day, week, year etc.): que ve, venint

Related terms

• prop

Danish

Etymology

From French propre ‎(“clean, house-trained, own”), from Latin proprius ‎(“own”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /proːbər/, [ˈpʰʁ̥oːˀb̥ɐ]

Adjective

proper

1. cleanly
2. tidy

Inflection

Derived terms

• properhed ("cleanliness", "tidiness")

References

• “proper” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈproː.pər/
• Hyphenation: pro‧per

Etymology

From Middle Dutch proper, from Old French propre, from Latin proprius.

Adjective

proper ‎(comparative properder, superlative properst)

1. (chiefly Belgium) clean

Inflection

Synonyms

1. netjes, rein, zindelijk.
2. (Netherlands) schoon.

German

Etymology

Ultimately from Old French propre, from Latin proprius. Probably borrowed in north-western dialects via Middle Dutch proper [13th c., sense: 15th c.], later generalized under the influence of modern French propre. The colloquial euphemism for “chubby” may, in part, be due to association with Proppen (whence also proppenvoll and Wonneproppen).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʁɔpɐ/

Adjective

proper ‎(comparative properer, superlative am propersten)

1. (somewhat informal) in good condition: clean; neat; well-kept; developed

   Bis vor Kurzem herrschte hier bittere Armut, aber jetzt ist es ein ganz properes Städtchen geworden.

   Until recently bitter poverty prevailed around here, but now it’s become rather a neat little town.

2. (colloquial, euphemistic) overweight; chubby

   Die Linda war doch immer so’ne Schlanke, aber jetzt sieht sie ziemlich proper aus.

   Linda was always a slender one, but now she looks pretty chubby.

Declension

Old French

Adjective

proper m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular proper)

1. (rare) Alternative form of propre
   • Or a mai entendez Ki proper volunté amez, Set Pechez 70