proper

(prŏp'ər)
adj.

1. Characterized by appropriateness or suitability; fitting: the proper knife for cutting bread; not a proper moment for a joke.
2. Called for by rules or conventions; correct: the proper form for a business letter.
3. Strictly following rules or conventions, especially in social behavior; seemly: a proper lady; a proper gentleman.
4. 1. Belonging to one; own: restored to his proper shape by the magician.
   2. Characteristically belonging to the being or thing in question; peculiar: an optical effect proper to fluids.
5. Being within the strictly limited sense, as of a term designating something: the town proper, excluding the suburbs.
6. Ecclesiastical. For use in the liturgy of a particular feast or season of the year.
7. Mathematics. Of or relating to a subset of a given set when the set has at least one element not in the subset.
8. Worthy of the name; true: wanted a proper dinner, not just a snack.
9. Out-and-out; thorough: a proper whipping.

adv.
Thoroughly: beat the eggs good and proper.

n. Ecclesiastical also Proper
The parts of the liturgy that vary according to the particular feast or season of the year.

[Middle English propre, from Old French, from Latin proprius.]

properly prop'er·ly adv.
properness prop'er·ness n.

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mathematics Literally such, e.g. a proper subset is less than the whole set (but not empty); a proper fraction is less than 1 (rather than e.g., 3⁄2); a proper interval is not a single value.

adjective

1. Suitable for a particular person, condition, occasion, or place: appropriate, apt, becoming, befitting, correct, felicitous, fit¹, fitting, happy, meet², right, tailor-made. See right/wrong.
2. Suited to one's end or purpose: appropriate, befitting, convenient, expedient, fit¹, good, meet², suitable, tailor-made, useful. See agree/disagree, good/bad.
3. Consistent with prevailing or accepted standards or circumstances: appropriate, deserved, due, fit¹, fitting, just, merited, right, rightful, suitable. See right/wrong.
4. Conforming to accepted standards: becoming, befitting, comely, comme il faut, correct, decent, decorous, de rigueur, nice, respectable, right, seemly. See courtesy/discourtesy.
5. In accordance with principles of right or good conduct: ethical, moral, principled, right, righteous, rightful, right-minded, virtuous. See right/wrong.
6. Marked by excessive concern for propriety and good form: bluenosed, genteel, old-maidish, precise, priggish, prim, prissy, prudish, puritanical, strait-laced, stuffy, Victorian. Idioms: prim and proper. See plain/fancy.

adj

Definition: conventional, correct
Antonyms: improper, incorrect, substandard, unconventional

adj

Definition: individual, personal
Antonyms: general

adj

Definition: mannerly, decent
Antonyms: crass, crude, improper, misbehaving, objectionable

adj

Definition: suitable
Antonyms: improper, inappropriate, unacceptable, unsuitable

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Fit; correct; reasonably sufficient. That which is well adapted or appropriate.

Proper care is the degree of care a reasonable, prudent person would use under similar circumstances.

A proper party is an individual who has an interest in the litigation. He or she can be joined — that is, brought into the action — but his or her nonjoinder will not result in a dismissal. A substantial judicial decree can still be rendered in the absence of a proper party. A proper party is distinguishable from a necessary party in that the latter must be joined in order to give complete relief to the litigants.

See: joinder.

The parts of the Mass whose parts change daily, as distinct from the ordinary. The proper consists of the introit, Gradual, Alleluia or Tract, Offertory, and Communion.

IN BRIEF: Having all the qualities typical of the thing specified.

Truth is proper and beautiful in all times and in all places. — Frederick Douglass (1817-1895), US black lecturer, writer, founded and edited North Star, an abolitionist paper.

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adverb
adverb

Completely, fully, utterly; recorded in standard use in the 15th century. (1816 —) .
Northern Echo Alan Milburn, Darlington's NHS conscious Labour candidate, has been proper poorly (1992).

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For a list of words related to proper, see:

• Absolutes and Guarantees
• Proper, Courteous, Refined, or Puritanical

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See words rhyming with "proper."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Proper.

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Common misspelling(s) of proper

• propper

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - ret, rigtig, tilbørlig, passende
adv. - rigtigt, tilbørligt
n. - salme o.l. sat tilside til en speciel dag

idioms:

• proper adjective    adjektiv dannet af et egennavn
• proper fraction    ægte brøk
• proper name    egennavn
• proper noun    egennavn
• proper to    som passer sig for

Nederlands (Dutch)
echt, juist, correct, eigen, behoorlijk

Français (French)
adj. - correct, bon (choix, réponse), propre (sens), nécessaire, qu'il faut, convenable, bon (entraînement, formation), convenant à (poste, statut), correct (une personne), convenable (une éducation), vrai (des vacances), bonne (occasion), complet (idiot, désastre), même, proprement dit, propre à (qn)
adv. - correctement, très, comme il convient
n. - (Relig) propre

idioms:

• proper adjective    adjectif substantivé
• proper fraction    fraction inférieure à l'unité
• proper name    nom propre
• proper noun    nom propre
• proper to    propre à

Deutsch (German)
adj. - richtig, eigentlich, angemessen, gehörig
adv. - richtig
n. - Offizium od. Psalm für einen bes. (Fest)tag

idioms:

• proper adjective    von einem Eigennamen abgeleitetes Adjektiv
• proper fraction    (Math.) echter Bruch
• proper name    Eigenname
• proper noun    Eigenname
• proper to    sich gehörend

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - κατάλληλος, πρέπων, αρμόζων, ενδεδειγμένος, ορθός, (αυτός) καθαυτός, σωστός, τέλειος, ευπρεπής, κόσμιος, (καθομ.) γνήσιος, βέρος
adv. - ολωσδιόλου, εντελώς, σωστά, καθώς πρέπει
n. - (εκκλ.) ειδική ακολουθία

idioms:

• proper adjective    σωστό επίθετο, ακριβής χαρακτηρισμός
• proper fraction    (μαθημ.) γνήσιο κλάσμα (μικρότερο της μονάδας)
• proper name    ακριβές/κανονικό όνομα, (γραμμ.) κύριο όνομα
• proper noun    κύριο όνομα
• proper to    προσιδιάζων σε, χαρακτηριστικός του

Italiano (Italian)
vero, esatto, pertinente, corretto, appropriato, adatto, conveniente, opportuno, giusto, propriamente, proprio

idioms:

• proper adjective    aggettivo proprio
• proper fraction    frazione propria
• proper noun/name    nome proprio
• proper to    tipico di

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - próprio, correto
adv. - propriamente
n. - próprio (m)

idioms:

• proper adjective    adjetivo próprio
• proper fraction    fração própria
• proper noun/name    nome/substantivo próprio
• proper to    característico de

Русский (Russian)
верный, присущий, приличный, собственно

idioms:

• proper adjective    прилагательное сформировано от собственного имя
• proper fraction    правильная дробь
• proper noun/name    имя собственное
• proper to    свойственный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - auténtico, verdadero, apropiado, indicado, correcto, decente
adv. - correctamente, debidamente
n. - propio

idioms:

• proper adjective    adjetivo formado de nombre propio
• proper fraction    fracción propia, quebrado propio
• proper name    nombre propio
• proper noun    nombre propio
• proper to    propio de, característico de

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - rätt, lämplig, tillbörlig, behörig, anständig, därtill hörande, egentlig, riktig, ordentlig, typisk för
adv. - lämpligen, anständigtvis, rätteligen
n. - bönsamling

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
适当的, 专属的, 高尚的, 完全地, 彻底地, 特定节日的礼仪, 特定节日礼仪书的章节

idioms:

• proper adjective    专有形容词
• proper fraction    真分数
• proper name    专有名词
• proper noun    专有名词
• proper to    特有的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 適當的, 專屬的, 高尚的
adv. - 完全地, 徹底地
n. - 特定節日的禮儀, 特定節日禮儀書的章節

idioms:

• proper adjective    專有形容詞
• proper fraction    真分數
• proper name    專有名詞
• proper noun    專有名詞
• proper to    特有的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 적당한, 타당한
adv. - 완전히
n. - (특정한 날, 시간에 정해진) 의식, 예배식

idioms:

• proper to    독특한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 適当な, 相応な, 礼儀正しい, 端正な, 正確な, 厳格な意味での, 独持の, 固有の, 自然色の, 全くの
n. - 特定礼拝式

idioms:

• proper adjective    固有形容詞
• proper fraction    真分数
• proper noun/name    固有名詞
• proper to    特有の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مناسب, ملائم, صحيح كامل, تام (ظرف) حسب الأصول, تماما, كليه, كما ينبغي (الاسم) جزء من القداس,‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מתאים, הגון, מושלם, נכון, יאה, אמיתי, מכובד‬
adv. - ‮מאד, כהוגן, ממש, גופא, כפי שראוי להיות‬
n. - ‮חלק הטקס בכנסיה המשתנה בהתאם לעונה ולחג‬

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