proper

[Prop·er]

Something proper is correct or right. There's a proper fork to use for salad, and a proper way to dress for a wedding.

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Belonging to one; one's own; individual.

Adjective S.
appropriate for a condition or occasion; "everything in its proper place"; "the right man for the job"; "she is not suitable for the position"

Adjective
marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness; "proper medical treatment"; "proper manners"

a.
Belonging to one; one's own; individual.

a.
Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular; as, every animal has his proper instincts and appetites.

a.
Befitting one's nature, qualities, etc.; suitable in all respect; appropriate; right; fit; decent; as, water is the proper element for fish; a proper dress.

a.
Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome.

a.
Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to common; as, a proper name; Dublin is the proper name of a city.

a.
Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper.

a.
Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.

adv.
Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good.

Proper

Prop"er , a. [OE. propre, F. propre, fr. L. proprius. Cf. Appropriate.] 1. Belonging to one; one's own; individual. "His proper good" [i. e., his own possessions]. Chaucer. "My proper son." Shak.

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

2. Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular; as, every animal has his proper instincts and appetites.

Those high and peculiar attributes . . . which constitute our proper humanity.

3. Befitting one's nature, qualities, etc.; suitable in all respect; appropriate; right; fit; decent; as, water is the proper element for fish; a proper dress.

The proper study of mankind is man.

In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play, All proper to the spring, and sprightly May.

4. Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome. [Archaic] "Thou art a proper man." Chaucer.

Moses . . . was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child.

5. Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to common; as, a proper name; Dublin is the proper name of a city. 6. Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper. 7. (Her.) Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge. In proper, individually; privately. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. -- Proper flower ∨ corolla (Bot.), one of the single florets, or corollets, in an aggregate or compound flower. -- Proper fraction (Arith.) a fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator. -- Proper nectary (Bot.), a nectary separate from the petals and other parts of the flower. -- Proper noun (Gram.), a name belonging to an individual, by which it is distinguished from others of the same class; -- opposed to common noun; as, John, Boston, America. -- Proper perianth ∨ involucre (Bot.), that which incloses only a single flower. -- Proper receptacle (Bot.), a receptacle which supports only a single flower or fructification.

Proper

Prop"er, adv. Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloq & Vulgar]

Belonging to one; one's own; individual.

Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good.

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Usage Examples

Art is the proper task of life.

Beauty deprived of its proper foils and adjuncts ceases to be enjoyed as beauty, just as light deprived of all shadows ceases to be enjoyed as light.

And I think of that again as I've written in several of my beauty books, a lot of health comes from the proper eating habits, which are something that - you know, I come from a generation that wasn't - didn't have a lot of food.

Communication is about being effective, not always about being proper.

At times I experience hardship in trying to find the proper point of balance between traditional things and my own personality.

Fathers should be neither seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life.

Chronic malnutrition, or the lack of proper nutrition over time directly contributes to three times as many child deaths as food scarcity. Yet surprisingly, you don't really hear about this hidden crisis through the morning news, Twitter or headlines of major newspapers.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

God gave us faculties for our use each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher.

God, to me, it seems, is a verb not a noun, proper or improper.

Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance.

A chronicle is very different from history proper.

Divorce these days is a religious vow, as if the proper offspring of marriage.

For most men life is a search for the proper manila envelope in which to get themselves filed.

But there is only one surefire method of proper pattern recognition, and that is science.