adj.
Pronunciation: ' prä-p ə r
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