properadj.n.adv.

Brit.

/ˈprɒpə/, U.S.

/ˈprɑpər/

Forms: Middle English popir (transmission error), Middle English propere, Middle English prople (transmission error), Middle English propour, Middle English þroper (transmission error), Middle English–1500s propir, Middle English–1500s propire, Middle English–1500s propure, Middle English–1500s propyr, Middle English–1500s (1900s– English regional) propur, Middle English–1600s propre, Middle English– proper, 1500s proppre, 1500s propyre, 1500s– propper (now regional and nonstandard), 1600s prooper, 1900s– prapper (English regional (Dorset)); also Scottish pre-1700 propir, pre-1700 propire, pre-1700 proppir, pre-1700 propre, pre-1700 proprie (perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 propyr, pre-1700 propyre. N.E.D. (1908) also records a form Middle English propyre.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French proper; Latin proprius.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman proper, propire, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French propre (French propre ; also in Old French as popre , transmission error) belonging exclusively to one person, private, personal (c1130), particular, peculiar (1224–7), rendering a concept exactly (c1265), that is the same, identical (c1280), that genuinely is the specified thing (c1280), suitable, appropriate (c1280), (of clothes) immaculate (c1280), (of a person) capable (1370), (of language) correct (1396), (of a person) elegant, meticulously neat (a1525) and its etymon classical Latin proprius one's own, personal, private, peculiar, special, particular, suitable, appropriate, expressed in appropriate terms, literal, (of a word) having its own literal meaning, denoting a particular person or place (of uncertain and disputed origin: see below). With use as noun compare classical Latin proprium (see proprium n.), Anglo-Norman and Middle French propre private property, wealth (first half of the 13th cent. in Old French), particular quality (14th cent.); compare also own pron. used predicatively or absolutely. With use as adverb compare Middle French propre properly (1452, rare). Compare Old Occitan propri (13th cent. as adjective and noun), Catalan propi (12th cent. as propri, adjective), Spanish propio (13th cent.; 12th cent. as proprio), Portuguese proprio (964 as probio), Italian proprio (1221 as adjective; second half of the 13th cent. (as propio) as noun).Classical Latin proprius is thought by some to derive from pro- pro- prefix¹ + an unattested form from the same Indo-European base as free adj. An alternative derivation from an unattested classical Latin phrase *prō prīvō in the capacity of an individual ( < prō pro prep. + prīvō , ablative of prīvus separate, single, individual: see prive v.) encounters phonological difficulties. In senses A. 3d and A. 6 after German eigen own, proper, characteristic (see own adj.; compare eigen- comb. form); compare proper time n. The reason for the use as postmodifier in sense A. 7c is unclear. In sense B. 4 apparently short for proper respect + plural ending -s (probably merely euphonic).

A. adj.

I. Senses denoting suitability or conformity.

1. Suitable for a specified or implicit purpose or requirement; appropriate to the circumstances or conditions; of the requisite standard or type; apt, fitting; correct, right.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective]

goodOE

proper?c1225

felea1250

featc1325

seeming1338

rightful1340

thriftyc1386

sittingc1390

duea1393

truea1398

goodly1398

convenienta1400

wella1400

seemc1400

likelyc1425

fitc1440

tallc1440

befalling1542

fittinga1616

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > [adjective] > fitting or proper

methelyeOE

ylikeeOE

fairOE

i-meteOE

rightOE

becomelyc1175

proper?c1225

featc1325

conablea1340

rightful1340

worthyc1350

pursuanda1375

covenable1382

dignec1385

convenablec1386

thriftyc1386

sittingc1390

comenablea1400

gainlya1400

meeta1400

wortha1400

convenientc1400

meetlya1425

suinga1425

fitc1440

tallc1440

worthyc1450

good1477

dueful?a1527

beseeminga1530

fitting1535

straighta1538

decent1539

answerable1542

becoming1565

condecent1575

becomed1599

respective1605

befittinga1612

comely1617

decorous1664

shape-like1672

beseemly1737

farrantly?1748

fitly1840

in order1850

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective]

rightOE

namely?c1225

lealc1330

very1338

truec1400

justc1425

exquisite1541

precise?a1560

jump1581

accuratea1599

nice1600

refined1607

punctual1608

press?1611

square1632

exact1645

unerring1665

proper1694

correct1705

pointed1724

prig1776

precisivea1805

as right as a trivet1835

spot on1936

?c1225 (?a1200) [implied in: Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 78 Lokið hu propreliche þe lauedi in canticis..leareð ow bi hire saȝe hu ȝe schule seggen. (at properly adv. 1)].

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 103 Ich am þet am..amang alle þe heȝe names of oure lhorde, þis is þe uerste and þe mest propre [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues proprist; French li plus propres].

a1400 Twelve Profits of Tribulation (Royal) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 50 (MED) He shal shere a-way þo vnnayte loue of þi hert..to þat þat þo loue of þi hert ne passe not his propre termes.

a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 2474 (MED) Nature & þingis of arte Haue a propre tyme assigned for theire parte.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 321/2 Proper or apte or that serveth to a purpose, duict, duicte.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 203 Tis proper I obey him, but not now.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 132 The fruit of Cocos,..of great vertue to purge all humours, and proper for all diseases.

1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 122 They sometimes use the Adz..when the Ax or some other properer Tool lies not at hand.

1694 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) III. 258 To enquire of the properest methods to carry on our trade.

1772 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra II. lxviii. 313 He might introduce whatever novelties he thought proper.

1795 W. Cowper Pairing Time 64 Choose not alone a proper mate, But proper time to marry.

1830 J. Lindley Introd. Nat. Syst. Bot. 91 Boiling the chips..until the inspissated juice has acquired a proper consistency.

1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight vi. 70 The proper time to commence using glasses.

1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out ii. 21 She got..a disquisition upon the proper method of making roads.

1920 Act 10 & 11 George V c.76 §10 (1) The committee..shall, as they think proper, either grant or refuse the certificate within one month.

1952 C. Mackenzie Rival Monster xii. 154 I wanted to approach Miss Ross through the proper channels.

1996 Independent 3 Jan. 3/4 People take all possible precautions, wearing the proper equipment and skiing with a ski guide.

a. Conforming to recognized social standards or etiquette; decent, decorous, respectable, seemly. Frequently in predicative use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [adjective] > seemly or proper

seemly?c1225

comelya1350

seemc1400

ablea1500

setting1535

decent1545

civil1582

proper1738

gradely1763

decorous1792

nice1799

correctc1800

proprietous1815

the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > pleasing fitness > [adjective] > seemly or decorous

seemly?c1225

comelya1350

seemc1400

setting1535

comingc1540

decent1545

civil1582

handsome1583

mensefula1598

sprunt1631

semblable1647

proper1738

orthodox1755

decorous1792

comme il faut1818

wise-like1820

1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. a2 How the Author came to be without his Papers, is a Story not proper to be told.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 271. ¶4 If it had been proper for them [sc. ladies] to hear,..the Author would not have wrapp'd it up in Greek.]

1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 79 That won't be proper; you know, To-morrow's Sunday.

1799 M. Geisweiler tr. A. von Kotzebue Poverty & Nobleness of Mind iii. vii. 102 Child, what are you thinking about? It is not proper.

1812–13 P. B. Shelley in E. Dowden Life Shelley (1886) I. 327 So you do not know whether it is proper to write to me?

1831 W. M. Praed Stanzas Boccaccio iv Then Guilt will read the properest books, And Folly wear the soberest looks.

1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xvi. 261 When will you learn what's proper?

1899 E. Nesbit Story of Treasure Seekers xvi. 288 We said we should be delighted, if Father had no objection, because that is the proper thing to say.

1935 G. Santayana Last Puritan iii. iii. 318 You can't talk to an elderly man about your love affairs; it wouldn't be proper.

1998 P. Bonnell in E. ap Hywel Power 130 Sometimes my Mam calls to me—‘Husht girl! It's not proper bawling out them hymns like you was up in the gods at the Empire Theatre! Won't you never learn to act like decent folks!’

b. spec. Of a person: behaving according to social norms or polite usage; decorous, well-mannered; correct, respectable (occasionally with implication of stiff formality).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [adjective] > seemly or proper > specifically of persons

proper1818

1818 T. Moore Fudge Family in Paris x. 72 We dined at a tavern—La, what do I say?..a Restaurateur's, dear; Where your properest ladies go dine every day.

1871 J. S. Blackie Four Phases Morals i. 30 Very proper and respectable gentlemen.

1880 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXVI. 466 You hear very proper people..cry out against some of us.

1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xix. 216 She's awfully prim and proper and she'll scold dreadfully about this.

1953 A. Miller Crucible 43 I never sold myself! I'm a good girl! I'm a proper girl!

1979 D. Halberstam Powers that Be (1980) I. iv. 183 Sarnoff was a correct and proper man, sensitive about his own simple background and his position in America.

1997 C. B. Divakaruni Mistress of Spices 226 He is very proper, very shy, he will probably just drop off a gift beforehand.

II. Senses denoting possession by or relation to a particular person or thing.

a. Chiefly Grammar. Designating a name or noun which denotes (uniquely or otherwise) a particular person, place, country, title, etc., and which is usually written with an initial capital letter. Opposed to common adj. 17.Recorded earliest in compounds.

ΚΠ

c1300 St. Mary Magdalen (Laud) 18 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 462 Heo was icleoped in propre name, þe Maudeleyne.

?a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) II. 14 (MED) Thynk of propur nownnys, Both of kastels and of townnys.

1616 T. Granger Syntagma Grammaticum sig. D The Absolute Substantiue is proper, or common.

1779 Accomplished Letter-writer 36 None but Substantives, whether common, proper, or personal, may begin with a Capital.

1871 B. H. Kennedy Public School Lat. Gram. 23 Nouns or Names are Individual or Proper..which can only be applied to single persons, places, or objects.

1992 D. Gabrovs̆ek in C. Blank Lang. & Civilization I. 57 Edward D. Johnson claims that in practice the question of whether a given noun is proper or generic is merely whether or not to capitalize it.

b. Belonging or relating to a specified person or thing distinctively or exclusively; characteristic; particular (to). In quot. c1450: separate, distinct; cf. properly adv. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [adjective] > individual or distinct

sunderlyeOE

sundryOE

serec1175

proper1340

serelepesa1400

sundrylepesc1400

sunderlepesa1450

peculiar1509

several1533

unconfounded1577

well-distinguished1594

articulate1603

unconfused1609

inconfused1626

separate1691

demarcated1862

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [adjective] > belonging to a particular thing or person

specialc1230

proper1340

peculiara1475

specifical?a1475

singular?a1513

private1526

privy1560

personed1565

individual1570

particular1582

idiotical1655

specific1665

sacred1667

specific1667

specifiala1670

idiomatic1771

idiomatical1774

appropriate1796

exclusive1804

propriate1820

especial1854

dedicated1969

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 76 (MED) Vor þis wordle is ase a fayre, huer byeþ manye fole chapmen, þet of alle þinges hi knaweþ þe propre uirtue and þet worþ.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 760 (MED) The dreie Colre..his propre sete Hath in the galle.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 102 (MED) In þat lond of Caldee þei han here propre langages & here propre lettres.

c1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Rawl.) (1869) B. x. 237 (MED) [c1400 Laud Three] propre [persones, ac nouȝt in plurel noumbre, For al is but on god].

a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 193 (MED) The apostle sayde to hym..‘Go to hym and aske at hym what þyng is moste propur to man.’

1584 D. Fenner Artes of Logike & Rethorike ii. sig. B2^v Adiontes are eyther Common, or Proper... A proper adionte is that which is alwayes ioyned to one and the same subiect. So righteousnes faith, ioye in the holy Ghost, are the proper adiontes to the children of God.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 4 Their feet are proper and not like mans,..for they are like great hands.

a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 6 Endemial and local Infirmities proper unto certain Regions.

1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. i. viii. 16 A Proper Receptacle, is that which belongs only to the Parts of a single Fructification.

1830 J. Lindley Introd. Nat. Syst. Bot. 171 Flowers..having an involucrum which is either common or proper.

1870 J. Tyndall Lect. Electr. §66. 13 The notion of two kinds of electricity, one proper to vitreous bodies,..the other proper to resinous bodies.

1920 T. S. Eliot Sacred Wood 73 We forget that there is a rhetoric proper to Shakespeare at his best period which is quite free from the genuine Shakespearean vices either of the early period or the late.

1955 A. S. Romer Vertebr. Body (ed. 2) iii. 79 The Proboscidea (whose name derives from their trunk) are represented today only by the two elephant types proper to Africa and to southern Asia.

1992 T. Moore Care of Soul (1994) viii. 158 Hillman and Sardello suggest that it is the function of the body to give us emotions and images proper to its highly articulated organs.

c. Christian Church. Designating a service, psalm, lesson, etc., specially appointed for a particular day or season. See also sense B. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > [adjective] > particular

properc1384

c1384 Table of Lessons in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (1850) 683 First ben sett sondaies and ferials togider, and after that the sanctorum, bothe comyn and propre togider, of al the ȝeer.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Mattyns f. i^v Then shal folow certaine Psalmes in ordre as they been appointed..except there be propre Psalmes appointed for that day.

1678 V. Alsop Melius Inquirendum ii. v. 235 The ordinary service thereof gives place to the proper service of that festival.

1785 (title) Abridgement of the New Version of the Psalms for the use of Charlotte-Street Chapel..to which are added a Morning and Evening Hymn and Proper Hymns for Festivals.

1837 Times 10 July 4 Mr. French, one of the choir, gave out the proper psalms, the 29th and the 90th. They were chanted to Purcell's..single chant, which is always used on these melancholy occasions.

1861 F. H. A. Scrivener Plain Introd. Crit. New Test. i. 64 The proper services for the great feasts and fasts.

1908 N.E.D. (at cited word) Hymns, with proper Tunes. The Psalms and Canticles, with proper Chants.

1936 Times 17 Apr. 17 A resolution was carried..inviting the Archbishop and the Bishops to submit proposals for the provision of..a table of proper Psalms for Sundays and Holy Days.

1990 R. Crocker & D. Hiley Early Middle Ages to 1300 43 The Parakletike..is an important book for the study of hymnography as it contains the proper hymns for Offices as well as for the Divine Liturgy in the course of the church year.

d. Physics. In the theory of relativity: designating a property or quantity associated with a body or point in space (such as time, mass, length, etc.) as measured in the inertial frame in which it is at rest. Originally in proper time n. at Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > relativity > space-time > [adjective] > prefix distinguishing quantities

proper1911

1911 W. de Sitter in Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 71 392 The variable τ is called by Minkowski the ‘Eigenzeit’ of the point.., which may be translated by ‘proper-time’.

1923 Proc. Royal Soc. 1922–3 A. 102 530 Where m and (−e) are the ‘proper mass’ and charge of the electron respectively.

1936 N. Feather Introd. Nucl. Physics iii. 52 The possibility arises of deducing not only proper energies, but also quantum numbers, from the experimental data.

1952 C. Møller Theory of Relativity iv. 137 While q⁰/c² expresses the source density of proper mass, we see that the source density for relativistic mass is ((f.u) + q)/c².

1970 Nature 17 Oct. 272/1 Proper mass (equivalently, rest-mass, proper energy, or rest-energy) is the most important Lorentz-invariant scalar associated with any system.

4. Belonging to as a possession, attribute, or quality; (one or its) own; owned as property; that is a property or quality of the person or thing specified; intrinsic, inherent. Usually preceded by a possessive adjective (cf. own adj. 1). Now archaic except in specific (chiefly scientific) contexts. in (one's) proper person [after post-classical Latin in propria persona (frequently 1214–1350 in British sources); compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French en propre personne (1309 in Old French in plural as en propres persones; French en (sa) propre personne)] : in one's own person. † proper thing n. Obsolete one's own thing, a property.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [adjective]

propera1325

indwelling14..

resident1525

subsistenta1530

corporate1531

immanent1535

intrinsical?1545

integral1551

inexistent1553

internal1564

subjective1564

insident1583

inward1587

inherent1588

imminent1605

inhering1609

intern1612

subjectory1614

intimate1632

inhesive1639

intrinsic1642

implantate1650

medullary1651

implicit1658

inexisting1678

originala1682

indwelt1855

the mind > possession > owning > [adjective] > own

owneOE

nowna1325

propera1325

nainc1480

ownty-downty1815

the world > space > place > presence > present [phrase] > in person

in (one's) proper persona1325

in one's (own) persona1393

in person1436

in one's own personagec1534

in propria persona1654

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [adjective] > relating to self > belonging to oneself, itself, etc.

selfOE

propera1325

selfly1605

a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) vii. 56 Ant himsulf go in propre persone ant make þe siwte.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 236 (MED) Þe coupe is þe chalis; his bread and his wyn, þet is, his propre bodi and his propre blod.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith xv. 14 Alle þe propre [L. peculiaria] richesses of olofernes þat ben proued to han ben, þei ȝeuyn to Judit in gold & siluer & cloþes & jemmes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 562 An saul has propre thinges [= properties] thre.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 325 To haf in heritage..als a propire þing, þat were conquest tille him.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 4958 (MED) For to sytte in dome in proper parsoun.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 23 (MED) With his owne propre swerd he was slayn.

a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 449 Ȝif persouns hadden no glebe and no propre hous as eritage, þey sueden more crist & his apostlis.

1531 W. Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1538) sig. E Some call themselues poore without hauinge any thinge proper.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. xxxiii. 300 Neither have they any master to whom they are proper.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 60 Euen with such like valour, men hang, and drowne Their proper selues.

1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 700 The said leiger-book which was then my proper book, is now in Bodlies Library.

1718 G. Sewell Proclam. Cupid 9 Ill is the Bird that soils his proper Nest.

a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) App. 4. 188 I shall end my letter, my dear Dr. Franklin, with a personal application to your proper self.

1814 T. Jefferson Let. 10 Feb. in Writings (1984) 1322 In the ecclesiastical court..this inquisition was to be at the suit of either claimant, and was not ex-officio to be instituted by the bishop, and at his proper costs.

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxvi. 43 To cloak me from my proper scorn.

1852 N. Hawthorne Blithedale Romance v. 45 He ought to have commenced his investigation of the subject by perpetrating some huge sin in his proper person, and examining the condition of his higher instincts afterwards.

1877 M. Oliphant tr. Dante in Makers of Florence (ed. 2) iii. 79 To judge..with my proper eyes.

1881 Nature 8 Sept. 430/1 He concludes that the cause of the ‘proper’ light of the comet is the illumination of its constituent molecules by electric discharge.

1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xxiii. 225 I am sure I wished no ill to King George; and if he had been there himself in proper person, it's like he would have done as I did.

1920 A. MacLeish Let. 12 Oct. (1983) 76 Whether he will live in his own proper person with his own lovliness [sic] & gentleness & timbre we cannot know.

1980 A. Thwaite Victorian Voices 29 No matter that the London functionaries Hold back my proper monies.

5. Heraldry. Represented in natural or realistic colours rather than in conventional tinctures.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic tincture > [adjective] > natural colour

proper1572

1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 95^v Twoo Cypres trees raguled Solis, enwrapped with Ivy proper.

1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xii. 123 By Proper is euermore vnderstood his naturall colour.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 409/1 The City of Oxford beareth Azure, a Book open, proper; with seven Seals between three Crowns Or.

c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 193 A turkey Cock on each Cut in stone and painted proper.

1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 457/2 ‘Gules, three Legs armed proper, conjoined in the Fess-point’... This is the coat of arms of the Isle of Man.

1863 C. Boutell Heraldry Hist. & Pop. (ed. 2) xvii. 243 The Crest of the Duke of Rutland is, on a chapeau gu.., lined erm., a peacock in its pride, proper.

1977 O. Neubecker Heraldry Sources, Symbols & Meaning 135 The color of the maple leaves on the shield was originally blazoned as ‘proper’ (naturally coloured).

2004 Guardian (Nexis) 12 June 61 One Heraldry Society member has a crest featuring ‘a border terrier statant argent gorged with a wreath of watercress proper’.

6. Mathematics and Physics. = eigen- comb. form.

a. Of a vibration or oscillation: = normal adj. 7.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > [adjective] > in simple harmonic motion

normal1867

proper1873

1873 Proc. London Math. Soc. 4 258 The problem of determining the proper tones of any spherical cavity bounded by rigid walls.

1909 Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 10/1 All elastic bodies, including metals, when made fast at one end, vibrate when subjected to a shock from outside. The vibrations so caused are what are known as proper vibrations.

1962 S.-I. Tomonaga Quantum Mech. I. i. 16 It was possible to arrange the proper oscillations in order by giving each of them an integral number s which has the physical meaning that (s − 1) is the number of nodes of the oscillation.

2004 Ultrasonics 42 622/1 Each bubble emits..a component with the fundamental frequency of its proper vibrations.

b. Of a function or value: that is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue.

ΚΠ

1930 A. E. Ruark & H. C. Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta xv. 526 Such an aggregate of E values is often referred to as a ‘spectrum of characteristic values’, or ‘proper values’.

1935 L. Pauling & E. B. Wilson Introd. Quantum Mech. iii. 58 The functions ψ_s(x) which satisfy Equation 9-8 and also certain auxiliary conditions..are variously called wave functions or eigenfunctions (Eigenfunktionen), or sometimes amplitude functions, characteristic functions, or proper functions.

1958 R. V. Andree Sel. Mod. Abstr. Algebra ix. 195 In quantum mechanics and elsewhere, the terms latent roots, proper value, eigenvalue, and eigenwerte are often used in place of characteristic root.

2004 Jrnl. Electr. Power & Energy Syst. 26 538/1 Eigenvalue analysis was performed to search proper values for them using the equivalent power system model.

III. Senses denoting the accurate or strict use of the word or concept qualified, or the fulfilment of criteria understood or implied by it.

a. Such as a person or thing of the kind specified should be; admirable, excellent, fine; of high quality; of consequence, serious, worthy of consideration. Also used ironically (cf. fine adj. 7).Now merging with sense A. 7c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]

faireOE

bremea1000

goodlyOE

goodfulc1275

noblec1300

pricec1300

specialc1325

gentlec1330

fine?c1335

singulara1340

thrivena1350

thriven and throa1350

gaya1375

properc1380

before-passinga1382

daintiful1393

principala1398

gradelya1400

burlyc1400

daintyc1400

thrivingc1400

voundec1400

virtuousc1425

hathelc1440

curiousc1475

singlerc1500

beautiful1502

rare?a1534

gallant1539

eximious1547

jolly1548

egregious?c1550

jellyc1560

goodlike1562

brawc1565

of worth1576

brave?1577

surprising1580

finger-licking1584

admirablea1586

excellinga1586

ambrosial1598

sublimated1603

excellent1604

valiant1604

fabulous1609

pure1609

starryc1610

topgallant1613

lovely1614

soaringa1616

twanging1616

preclarent1623

primea1637

prestantious1638

splendid1644

sterling1647

licking1648

spankinga1666

rattling1690

tearing1693

famous1695

capital1713

yrare1737

pure and —1742

daisy1757

immense1762

elegant1764

super-extra1774

trimming1778

grand1781

gallows1789

budgeree1793

crack1793

dandy1794

first rate1799

smick-smack1802

severe1805

neat1806

swell1810

stamming1814

divine1818

great1818

slap-up1823

slapping1825

high-grade1826

supernacular1828

heavenly1831

jam-up1832

slick1833

rip-roaring1834

boss1836

lummy1838

flash1840

slap1840

tall1840

high-graded1841

awful1843

way up1843

exalting1844

hot1845

ripsnorting1846

clipping1848

stupendous1848

stunning1849

raving1850

shrewd1851

jammy1853

slashing1854

rip-staving1856

ripping1858

screaming1859

up to dick1863

nifty1865

premier cru1866

slap-bang1866

clinking1868

marvellous1868

rorty1868

terrific1871

spiffing1872

all wool and a yard wide1882

gorgeous1883

nailing1883

stellar1883

gaudy1884

fizzing1885

réussi1885

ding-dong1887

jim-dandy1888

extra-special1889

yum-yum1890

out of sight1891

outasight1893

smooth1893

corking1895

large1895

super1895

hot dog1896

to die for1898

yummy1899

deevy1900

peachy1900

hi1901

v.g.1901

v.h.c.1901

divvy1903

doozy1903

game ball1905

goodo1905

bosker1906

crackerjack1910

smashinga1911

jake1914

keen1914

posh1914

bobby-dazzling1915

juicy1916

pie on1916

jakeloo1919

snodger1919

whizz-bang1920

wicked1920

four-star1921

wow1921

Rolls-Royce1922

whizz-bang1922

wizard1922

barry1923

nummy1923

ripe1923

shrieking1926

crazy1927

righteous1930

marvy1932

cool1933

plenty1933

brahmaa1935

smoking1934

solid1935

mellow1936

groovy1937

tough1937

bottler1938

fantastic1938

readyc1938

ridge1938

super-duper1938

extraordinaire1940

rumpty1940

sharp1940

dodger1941

grouse1941

perfecto1941

pipperoo1945

real gone1946

bosting1947

supersonic1947

whizzo1948

neato1951

peachy-keen1951

ridgey-dite1953

ridgy-didge1953

top1953

whizzing1953

badass1955

wild1955

belting1956

magic1956

bitching1957

swinging1958

ridiculous1959

a treat1959

fab1961

bad-assed1962

uptight1962

diggish1963

cracker1964

marv1964

radical1964

bakgat1965

unreal1965

pearly1966

together1968

safe1970

bad1971

brilliant1971

fabby1971

schmick1972

butt-kicking1973

ripper1973

Tiffany1973

bodacious1976

rad1976

kif1978

awesome1979

death1979

killer1979

fly1980

shiok1980

stonking1980

brill1981

dope1981

to die1982

mint1982

epic1983

kicking1983

fabbo1984

mega1985

ill1986

posho1989

pukka1991

lovely jubbly1992

awesomesauce2001

nang2002

bess2006

amazeballs2009

boasty2009

daebak2009

beaut2013

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute

shirea1225

purec1300

properc1380

plainc1395

cleana1400

fine?a1400

entirec1400

veryc1400

starka1425

utterc1430

utterlyc1440

merec1443

absolute1531

outright1532

cleara1535

bloodyc1540

unproachable1544

flat1553

downright1577

sheer1583

right-down?1586

single1590

peremptory1601

perfecta1616

downa1625

implicit1625

every way1628

blank1637

out-and-outa1642

errant1644

inaccessional1651

thorough-paced1651

even down1654

dead1660

double-dyed1667

through stitch1681

through-stitched1682

total1702

thoroughgoing1719

thorough-sped1730

regular1740

plumb1748

hollow1751

unextenuated1765

unmitigated1783

stick, stock, stone dead1796

positive1802

rank1809

heart-whole1823

skire1825

solid1830

fair1835

teetotal1840

bodacious1845

raw1856

literal1857

resounding1873

roaring1884

all out1893

fucking1893

pink1896

twenty-four carat1900

grand slam1915

stone1928

diabolical1933

fricking1937

righteous1940

fecking1952

raving1954

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 5366 (MED) Sirs..comeþ ner, And seeþ a propre siȝte.

c1390 G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale 309 So mote I then, thow art a propre man And lyk a prelat.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 51 (MED) ‘Here is propre seruice,’ quod pacience; ‘þer fareth no prynce bettere.’

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 726 I wille Tellen the a propre skille.

c1480 (a1400) St. John Baptist 243 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 230 John þe propereste profit was of al þat aperit in manis flesch.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cvii. 129 Ther wes many a proper feat of armes done.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xvi^v She had a proper wytte & coulde both reade and wryte.

1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande vii. f. 24^v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I A good humanitian, & a proper philosopher.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 310 Talke with a man out at a window, a proper saying.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. i. 129 A proper iest, and neuer heard before.

1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes 1st. Int. 10 in Wks. II I, shee is a proper piece! that such creatures can broke for.

1788 J. May Jrnl. 28 May (1873) (modernized text) 60 Major Doughty sent me a proper herring..which I salted.

1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey IV. vi. i. 35 Thou hast tasted thy liquor like a proper man.

1899 H. Pease Tales Northumbria 133 Wor Harry's a proper scholar.

a1903 E. H. Goddard in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 630/2 [North Wiltshire] That's some proper taters, bean't um?

b. Attractive, fair, handsome; elegant; well-made. Now regional.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective]

faireOE

comelyOE

winlyOE

goodlyOE

hendya1250

hendc1275

quaintc1300

seemlyc1305

tidya1325

avenant1340

honestc1384

sightya1387

properc1390

well beseena1393

queema1400

speciousa1400

featousc1400

parisantc1400

rekenc1400

well-favoureda1438

wellc1450

spectable?a1475

delicatec1480

jollya1500

bonny?a1513

snog1513

viewlyc1536

goodlikec1550

sightly1555

sightful1565

beholdinga1586

eyesome?1587

decent1600

vage1604

prospicuous1605

eyely1614

fashionable1630

well-looking1638

softa1643

fineish1647

well-looked1660

of a good (also ugly, etc.) look1700

likely-looked1709

sonsy1720

smiling1725

aspectable1731

smirkya1758

likely-looking1771

respectable1776

magnificent-looking1790

producible1792

presentable1800

good-looking1804

nice-looking1807

bonnyish1855

spick1882

eyeable1887

aegyo2007

c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3345 To loke on hire hym thoughte a mery lyf, She was so propre and swete and likerous.

c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 686 (MED) The ryȝtwys man also sertayn, Aproche he schal þat proper pyle.

?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Bvij Lytell nell A proper wenche she daunsith well.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 125 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 98 That was ye proper pape Iaye provde in his apparale.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Heb. xi. 23 The same tyme was Moses borne, and was a propper childe [ Wyclif fair or semely; Rheims a proper infant].

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 3080 The brede of hir brest, bright on to loke, Was..ffresshe and of fyne hew as þe fome clere: With two propur pappes, as a peire rounde.

1602 J. Brereton Briefe Relation Discouerie Virginia 4 We espied an Indian, a yong man, of proper stature, and of a pleasing countenance.

1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 77 These Indians..were very proper, tall and lusty men.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 189 One of the properest buildings North of Trent.

c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 129 One of white marble..the sinewes and veines..so finely done as to appear very proper.

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. ii. 25 By St. Anne! but he is a proper youth.

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II To make proper, to adorn.

1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. iv. 138 If he had but been a head taller, they had never seen a properer man.

1903 E. H. Goddard in Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 630/1 Them flowers look proper.

(a) Strictly or accurately so called; in the strict use of the word; genuine, real.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > accurately so named

rightOE

verya1300

verya1387

perfectc1387

propera1398

veritable1483

real?1505

dinkum1914

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 48 Bees..hauen no voys, but he makeþ a voys in fleinge..a frogge haþ propir voys [L. vocem propriam].

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 189 (MED) It is leeful, in proprist maner of leefulnes, that pilgrimagis be doon.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 367 May þou hald me þis hest..And profe þus in my presens as a propire sothe.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 49 (MED) Neþeles þese twelue signys beþ not siche propre beestis as þei han her names aftir, but by weye of philosophie þei beþ y-likned to siche maner of beestis.

c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 1, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Proper Quhow monye propir kyndis fallis to music mensurall? Fyvetein..Mesur..tym..figur..paus [etc.].

1610 Bible (Douay) II. Psalms xciii. 1 Annot. 173 The Holie Ghost is the proper auctor, and a man is the writer.

1734 G. Sale Preliminary Disc. i. 2 in tr. Koran Proper Arabia is by the oriental writers generally divided into five provinces.

1752 P. Petit Hebrew Guide sig. Nj Vowels are X Proper..and IV Improper, i.e. which are scarcely sounded.

1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. vii. 101 Rome asserts that in the mass a true and proper sacrifice is offered.

1924 G. Horne & G. Aiston Savage Life in Central Austral. 34 The celebrated Beltana deposit of ochre..is considered the ‘proper’ ochre..although plenty, hundreds of miles nearer, could be easily obtained.

1984 A. Thwaite Edmund Gosse i. 16 He had worked with magnifying slides but he had never had a proper microscope.

1986 Manchester Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 5 Oct. 19 I insist on being treated by a proper doctor.

2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 3 Almost immediately I became a punk. Not a proper fuck-off punk with a cockatoo hairdo and DESTROY tattooed across his forehead.

(b) As postmodifier, designating the part or aspect of a larger entity that is most accurately so called.

ΚΠ

1796 D. MacPherson Geogr. Illustr. Sc. Hist. Albany, Albania, Scotland, strictly speaking the country between the Forth and the Spey, or Scotland proper.

1807 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. (ed. 3) II. 89 The earths proper do not unite with oxygen... Characters of the alkaline and proper earths.

1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. i. 7 Extending principles which belong..to building, into the sphere of architecture proper.

1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 458 The concussion..may be limited either to the cerebrum proper, or to the medulla and pons.

1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art xv. 330 Obviously this can be done only if all parties entirely get rid of the idea that the art in question is a kind of amusement, and see it as a serious job, art proper.

1975 Countryman Autumn 30 Apart from the garden proper, there is a great area to the north which is being planted with trees.

2005 Yorks. Evening Post (Nexis) 18 Jan. US favourites like meatloaf, BBQ chicken with fried yams, [etc.],..are all on a three-course menu of soul food that's being served up before the music proper gets under way.

d. Esp. as an intensifier, in depreciative or derogatory contexts: answering fully to the description; thorough, complete; perfect. Now colloquial.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute > of something bad or reprobated

properc1430

arrant1639

erranta1720

defecated1796

unredeemed1799

blank1854

first class1868

prize1903

mucking1917

c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 259 He nys but a verray propre fol That loveth paramours, to harde and hote.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iii. l. 166 Throw matelent and werray propyr Ire.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 377 Quhen the king his folk has sene Begyn to faile for propyr tene Hys assenȝhe gan he cry.

a1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) 27 A leddy als, for luf, to tak Ane propir page, hir tyme to pas.

1680 J. Owen Continuation Expos. Hebrews vi. 93 Not to be thankful for Gifts, is the most proper ingratitude.

a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) (at cited word) ‘The mischievous boy got a proper licking’. ‘Tom is a proper rogue’.

1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe II. xxi. 327 Old Markham seems in a proper taking.

1871 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. Jan. 45 There will be a proper blow-up about this.

1935 E. Bowen House in Paris ii. v. 139 His and Karen's talk was light, unadvancing: proper Michaelis talk.

1960 G. W. Target Teachers 165 ‘They said Liddon Road was a proper caper,’ he said, ‘and now I know.’

1991 A. Carter Wise Children (1992) i. 39 She looked like a proper harlot, poor little thing, in her fishnets and her leather mini.

e. Esp. of language, a word, etc.: strictly applicable; accurate, correct; †literal, not metaphorical (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > literal meaning > [adjective]

stafflyc1000

native1579

proper1579

literal1597

Nicodemical1642

alphabetical1643

unallegorical1776

unsymbolic1871

non-figurative1900

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 166 In properist maner of speking.

1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 72 Qvhy diminiss ȝe or takis away..the trew and propir sentence fra ws, of this part of our Catholik beleif?

1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 236 The sense of that place is proper, and not figuratiue.

1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 877 When the Scripture saith, that the Lord God is unchaungeable, it is a proper speach, because he is so of his owne nature..When it sayth: Hee went down to see the Tower of Babel, then it is an improper speach.

1694 J. Taylor Symbolon Theologikon 242 God himself is not in proper manner of speaking in two places, he is not capable of being in any place at all.

1769 T. Pennant in Philos. Trans. 1768 (Royal Soc.) 58 96 The proper name of these birds is Pinguin... It has been corrupted to Penguin.

1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 43 As I was walking along the common—blown along would be the properer phrase.

1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 272/2 Arachnids are not, in a proper sense, subject to metamorphosis.

1951 J. H. Meisel Genesis of Georges Sorel 65 Sorel flatly denies that Christianity ever developed a proper social morality in the proper meaning of the word.

1995 F. Brentano et al. Psychol. from Empirical Standpoint 17 Those who deny the existence of a substantial soul cannot speak of the immortality of the soul in the proper sense of the word.

f. Very; identical. Now English regional.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > [adjective]

the ilkeOE

selfeOE

oneOE

no nothera1325

that ilk (thilk) same1390

one self?a1425

selfsamec1425

the same self1503

proper1523

one (and the) selfsame1531

self-said1548

one and the same1551

identical1581

the same very1590

the very same1597

individuala1602

individually the same1604

a (also one) selfly1605

very1611

same1621

numerical1624

numeric1663

identic1664

synonymous1789

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cclxxxv. 426 The same proper night Sir Thomas Grantson was departed.

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 10 But loa, the proper image of corps vntumbed apeered In dreame to Dido.

1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1866) 1st Ser. x. 178 Act..like his proper self.

1899 H. Pease Tales Northumbria 125 A proper marrow of himself in shape and size.

†8. Of good character or standing; honest, respectable, worthy. Obsolete.Now merged with sense A. 2b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [adjective] > respectable

substantious1490

proper1600

creditable1624

decent1712

respectable1750

gradely1763

pukka1776

nice1799

salonfähig1905

quite1907

resp1922

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. ii. 146 A proper gentlewoman.

a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iv. iii. 218 An aduertisement to a proper maide in Florence..to take heede of the allurement of one Count Rossillion.

1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iv. 235 The Other, S^r Philip Stapleton, was a proper man, of a fair extraction.

1765 T. Gray Shakespeare in Corr. Gray & W. Mason (1853) 339 3 'Tis Willey begs, once a right proper man.

1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles III. li. 189 ‘What about you?’ ‘I am not a—proper woman.’

9. Mathematics. Designating a subset, subgroup, etc., that does not constitute the entire set, group, etc.; spec. designating such a subgroup, subring, etc., that does not consist solely of the identity element of the group, ring, etc., concerned.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of sets > in abstract algebra

proper1906

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of sets > in abstract algebra > of groups

reducible1585

transitive1861

primitive1888

simple1888

special1888

cyclic1889

intransitive1889

solvable1892

finite1893

perfect1898

Abelian1900

soluble1902

proper1906

trivial1915

equivalent1948

hypercyclic1968

sporadic1968

1906 W. H. Young & G. C. Young Theory of Sets of Points iii. 16 A set which is contained entirely in another set is called a component of the latter set, and, if there are points of the latter set not belonging to the former set, it is said to be a proper component of the other.

1937 R. D. Carmichael Introd. Theory Groups of Finite Order i. 28 A subgroup of G which is not identical with G is called a proper subgroup of G.

1953 W. Ledermann Introd. Theory Finite Groups ii. 31 Every group G has two trivial or improper subgroups namely, G itself and the group which consists of the unit element by itself (I² = I); all other subgroups are called proper subgroups.

1972 C. S. Ogilvy Tomorrow's Math (ed. 2) 161 A first step in the reorganization of preconceived notions is the concept that a point-set can be congruent to a proper subset of itself.

1992 J. G. Oxley Matroid Theory vi. 213 The reader should have no difficulty in showing that each of the inclusions indicated in this diagram is proper.

B. n.

a. That which is one's own; a personal possession; private property; esp. in one's own proper. Now Irish English (northern) and rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > that which is one's own

propera1382

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 3 Esdras vi. 32 Whoso euere ouer passen any-thing of þese thingis þat ben writen, be þer taken a tree of þer owne propre [L. de suis propriis]..be þei hangid.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 2374 Þei suffred hym no thyng to take, his awen propir for to make.

?c1430 (c1400) Rule St. Francis (Corpus Cambr.) in F. D. Matthew Eng. Wks. Wyclif (1880) 40 Lyuynge in obedience, wiþ-outen propre.

1456 Regist. de Aberbrothoc (Bannatyne Club) II. 89 The proppis that passis estwart betwix the propir and the commoun.

a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 130 How moche thou mayste despende of thyn owyn propyr.

1524 King Henry VIII Instruct. Pace in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. xiii. 26 Redounding to their honours & suerties, as his awne propers.

?1550 J. Bale Apol. agaynste Papyst 22 I frire N. make my profession and promyse obedience to God, to S. Frances..to live without propre and in chastite accordynge to the rule of the sayd ordre.

1592 Edinb. Test. XXIV. f. 214, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) That the samyn [goods and gear] remane with him as his awin proper but..clame of me.

1664 Irvine Deeds (MS) in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (1986) VI. 314/2 [The goods] to be..desponit upon be thame as thair awine proper.

a1908 H. C. Hart MS Coll. Ulster Words in M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal (1953) 220/1 Proper,..property. Cut their bog as their proper.

†b. in proper: in individual possession; as private property; as one's own. Opposed to in common. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > owning > [adverb] > as private property

properly1340

in proper1391

1391 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 23 Alsmekle land heretable as the said erle..has now in propir in demayn.

c1400 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 415 (MED) Crist was herberowid in symple houses of oþer comyne men; þese freris have in propur houses of coste.

1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 101 We seyen we han riȝt nouȝt in propre ne in comoun.

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. pr. ii. 13 Yif thou maist schewen me that ever any mortel man hath resceyved ony of tho thynges to ben his in propre.

a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 413 (MED) What lewid skile shulde moue of þis þat prestis shulden be seculer lordis, or haue worldly godis in propre.

1553 T. Becon Relikes of Rome (1563) 215 Christ and his Apostles had no possessions neyther in proper nor in commune.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage viii. vi. 641 They haue their lands and gardens in proper.

1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule of Holy Living (1727) iii. §3. 171 They could not have that in proper, which God made to be common.

2. Christian Church. That part of the Eucharist or liturgical offices which is varied according to the calendar or the particular occasion; an office or part of an office, as a psalm, lesson, etc., or portion of the Eucharist, appointed for a particular occasion or season. Opposed to common n.¹ 5. Cf. sense A. 3c.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > [noun] > service for particular

propera1500

c1384 Table of Lessons in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (1850) 696 Here endith the Propre Sanctorum, and now bigynneth the Commoun Sanctorum.]

a1500 Rule Minoresses in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 110 (MED) At þe blessinge of þe tabel at mete, but whan þey haue propre, Oculi omnium, [etc.].

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Ordre Holy Scripture sig. A.ii^v The Collect, Epistle and Gospell appoynted for the Sundaie, shall serue all the weeke after, except there fall some feast that hath his propre.

1719 Evening-office of Church (ed. 2) p. i What is wanting in the Proper either for Sundays or Saints, is to be supply'd out of the Common.

1851 G. Rorison Hymns & Anthems Introd. 23 The Proper of the Season and the Proper of Saints, for which [the Prayer Book] provides Epistles and Gospels.

1882–3 Schaff's Encycl. Relig. Knowl. 2064 The regular [R.C.] orders have also in most cases a Proper, containing offices of saints belonging to their rule.

1933 Burlington Mag. June 276/1 It is a ‘proper’ of the Augustinian order.

1988 Jrnl. Royal Mus. Assoc. 113 279 We can see that the 89 liturgical ones [sc. texts] favour no particular category; 39% are from the Proper of the Saints, 33% from the Proper of the Time and 28% from the Common of the Saints.

1994 R. Davies Cunning Man 315 We go to the eleven o'clock solemn High Mass, with plain-song propers sung by the Ritual Choir..and a missa brevis and motet sung by the Gallery Choir.

†3. An attribute specially or intrinsically belonging to something; an essential characteristic, property, or quality. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a characteristic

privilegec1225

distinctionc1374

propertyc1390

tachea1400

pointa1425

specialty?a1425

difference?c1425

conditionc1460

markc1522

touch1528

specialty1532

differentia1551

character?1569

formality1570

particularity1585

peculiar1589

accent1591

appropriation1600

characterism1603

peculiarity1606

resemblance1622

propera1626

speciality1625

specificationa1631

appropriament1633

characteristic1646

discrimination1646

diagnostic1651

characteristical1660

stroke1666

talent1670

physiognomya1680

oddity1713

distinctive1816

spécialité1836

trait1864

flavour1866

middle name1905

discriminant1920

discriminator1943

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun]

pitheOE

i-cundeeOE

roota1325

substancec1330

juicec1380

marrowa1382

formc1385

acta1398

quidditya1398

substantial forma1398

inward1398

savourc1400

inwardc1450

allaya1456

essencya1475

being1521

bottom1531

spirit?1534

summary1548

ecceity1549

core1556

flower1568

formality1570

sum and substance1572

alloy1594

soul1598

inwardness1605

quid1606

fibre1607

selfness1611

whatness1611

essentialityc1616

propera1626

the whole shot1628

substantiala1631

esse1642

entity1643

virtuality1646

ingeny1647

quoddity1647

intimacy1648

ens1649

inbeing1661

essence1667

interiority1701

intrinsic1716

stamen1758

character1761

quidditas1782

hyparxis1792

rasa1800

bone1829

what1861

isness1865

inscape1868

as-suchness1909

Wesen1959

a1626 L. Andrewes 96 Serm. (1629) 9 That is not the proper of this day.

a1626 L. Andrewes 96 Serm. (1629) 645 That is Christ's proper.

1654 Z. Coke Art of Logick 67 Every proper floweth from the Essential beginnings of his subject.

1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica 41 Propers either flow immediately from the Essence of the Subject;..Or, by the Mediation of some other Property.

4. slang (originally and chiefly in African-American usage). In plural. Chiefly with possessive adjective. Due respect, acknowledgement, or esteem; = props n.

ΚΠ

1967 A. Franklin Respect (transcribed from song) I'm out to give you all of my money, And all I'm askin' in return, Honey, Is to give me my propers when you get home.

1971 Chicago Daily Defender 7 Jan. 14/3 A level of existence which affords each black man his propers—dignity, pride,..and the ability to govern his destiny.

1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 4 Dec. b15/1 The least they could have done was give me my propers.

1993 Essence (Electronic ed.) July 50 Now she's finally starting to get her propers.

2002 Echoes May 55/1 His approach to both his instrument and composition is anything but predictable and for that alone he deserves a bag full of propers.

C. adv.

†1. Suitably, appropriately. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > [adverb]

wellOE

tidily1340

avenantlya1375

covenablyc1384

featlya1400

propera1400

queema1400

congruelyc1400

conably1411

cordingc1420

convenablyc1430

competentlyc1440

fitc1440

accordantlyc1443

accordinglyc1443

conveniently1447

at pointc1485

congruentlya1529

appliablyc1530

afferandly1536

suitingly1540

aptly1548

answerably1549

fitlyc1550

agreeingly1563

suitable1584

not unfitly1586

aptitudinallyc1600

handsome1600

sortfully1606

sortably1607

congruouslya1620

accommodately1623

adaptlya1648

inabusivelya1677

suitably1681

agreeably1753

appropriately1795

suitly1913

righteous1948

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 24934 (MED) Bot now men vsis on oþerwise; þer is mare of hir seruise, þat qua wil, mai hit sai propre on hir fest-day.

1590 W. Clever Flower of Phisicke 76 This reason standeth verie proper to manie dispositions.

a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) 38309 For greit dispyte tha call him ane lurdan The quhilk suld be mair proper ane lord Dene.

1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) i. sig. a3 Ordering each part thereof, proper to its particular use.

1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. viii. 141 The Joysts lie not proper for the second story.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. i. iv. 93 Which is properest done at those seasons when our thoughts are fresh.

a. Thoroughly; extremely; correctly. Frequently in good and proper (see good and at good adj. 12c). Now colloquial.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase]

a great dealc1000

much dealc1225

on highc1400

little1483

good and proper1508

not smally1548

a deal1756

in a big way1840

more than somewhat1930

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly

allOE

outlyOE

thwert-outc1175

skerea1225

thoroughc1225

downrightc1275

purec1300

purelyc1300

faira1325

finelyc1330

quitec1330

quitelyc1330

utterlyc1374

outerlya1382

plainlya1382

straighta1387

allutterly1389

starkc1390

oultrelya1393

plata1393

barec1400

outrightc1400

incomparablyc1422

absolutely?a1425

simpliciter?a1425

staringa1425

quitementa1450

properlyc1450

directly1455

merec1475

incomparable1482

preciselyc1503

clean?1515

cleara1522

plain1535

merely1546

stark1553

perfectly1555

right-down1566

simply1574

flat1577

flatly1577

skire1581

plumb1588

dead?1589

rankly1590

stark1593

sheera1600

start1599

handsmooth1600

peremptory1601

sheerly1601

rank1602

utter1619

point-blank1624

proofa1625

peremptorily1626

downrightly1632

right-down1646

solid1651

clever1664

just1668

hollow1671

entirely1673

blank1677

even down1677

cleverly1696

uncomparatively1702

subtly1733

point1762

cussed1779

regularly1789

unqualifiedly1789

irredeemably1790

positively1800

cussedly1802

heart1812

proper1816

slick1818

blankly1822

bang1828

smack1828

pluperfectly1831

unmitigatedly1832

bodaciously1833

unredeemedly1835

out of sight1839

bodacious1845

regular1846

thoroughly1846

ingrainedly1869

muckinga1880

fucking1893

motherless1898

self1907

stone1928

sideways1956

terminally1974

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. av^v Propir schene schane y^e son.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 901 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 123 He lukit to his lykame..So propir plesand of prent.

1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. v. 53 As proper brave a man as e'er was laid Under the turf.

1838 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 2nd Ser. v. 75 I am proper glad you agree with me, squire, said he.

1898 A. Conan Doyle Trag. Korosko ix ‘Had 'em that time—had 'em proper!’ said he.

1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo xxx. 284 They got proper wet out there.

1988 M. Gee Grace iv. 49 He will sort her out good and proper later.

b. colloquial. Using correct, approved, or refined language, pronunciation, etc. Frequently ironic, the use of proper as an adverb (rather than properly) being considered by many to be incorrect.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > accent > [adverb] > properly

proper1915

1915 Dial. Notes 4 188 Talk proper before your teacher.

1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke ii. 41 Perhaps she'll 'ave another go at teachin' me to speak proper, pore soul.

1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse (title) Lern yerself Scouse. How to talk proper in Liverpool.

1995 Independent 6 Dec. 17/4 If Gillian Shephard, the Education Secretary, hoped her proposal to encourage schoolchildren to talk proper..would be a vote winner, she should have consulted some of her constituents first.

Compounds

Proper Bostonian n. [after the title of the novel The Proper Bostonians (compare quot. 1947) by Cleveland Amory] a member of upper-class society in Boston, Massachusetts (cf. Brahmin n. 3); frequently attributive.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [adjective] > relating to Bostonians

Proper Bostonian1947

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [noun] > member of > Bostonian

Proper Bostonian1947

1947 C. Amory Proper Bostonians i. 12 Outside observers have claimed to be able to tell the Proper Bostonian male by waistcoat, and the Proper Bostonian female by hat.

1969 A. Laski Dominant Fifth v. 180 Daughter of a not particularly wealthy and certainly not Proper Bostonian American.

1977 J. Cleary High Road to China vii. 231 She was only a mild rebel: there was still too much of the Proper Bostonian in her.

2005 Financial Planning (Nexis) 1 June I was a rich kid, but I was also a WASP and a Proper Bostonian.

proper fraction n. Mathematics a fraction whose magnitude is less than one, the numerator being lower in magnitude than the denominator.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > fraction > [noun] > numerator or denominator relationships

improper fraction1552

proper fractiona1630

infinitesimal1706

complex fraction1827

a1630 H. Briggs Logarithm. Arithm. (1631) 2 The Log. of proper fractions is Defective.

1766 J. Mair Arithm., Rational & Pract. I. ix. 240 If any number be divided by a proper fraction, the quot [sc. quotient] will be greater than the dividend.

1854 Proc. Royal Soc. 7 377 Up to certain limiting values of α the fraction is a proper fraction.

1991 Personal Computer World Feb. 226/1 Given a proper fraction P/Q..express it as a sum of unit fractions.

proper law n. Law †(a) the law or system of laws which operates in specific circumstances, in a particular country, etc. (obsolete); (b) the particular law taken to obtain in, or be appropriate to the consideration of, a specific case or transaction.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > [noun] > a law > other general types of law

judicialc1400

proper law1609

antinomy1644

cobweb law1649

post-law1663

overlaw1883

inn law1930

loi-cadre1953

1609 R. Parsons Quiet Reckoning viii. 579 As this is no proper law of England..but common to all or most Nations: and therefore no maruayle though it were in vse also among the English before the Conquest.

1726 A. Bayne Disc. on Rise & Progress Law of Scotl. in T. Hope Minor Practicks 166 Altho' we have thus collected and adopted a proper Law of our own, which is partly written, partly consuetudinary; yet..some Questions will often occur which by no Rule in our Law can well be decided.

1850 W. H. Foote Sketches of Virginia 212 If the Act of Toleration be..adopted, and wrought into your constitution and made a proper law of your colony, [etc.].

1938 N. Mackenzie & L. H. Laing Canada & Law of Nations f. i. 426 That contractual stipulations as to the measure of damages embodied in the agreement itself are governed as to validity and effect by the proper law of the contract, seems to follow as a corollary from the principle that the cause of action rests upon the rights given by that law.

2005 Times (Nexis) 21 June 60 Lord Justice Longmore said that the proper law of the contract of carriage was English law, since the parties had so agreed.

proper name n. [compare Old French propri nom (1155; Middle French, French nom propre)] a name, consisting of a proper noun or noun phrase including a proper noun, that designates an individual person, place, organization, tame animal, ship, etc., and is usually written with an initial capital letter. A proper name may receive a connotation from the qualities of a person or thing named, and thus may be used as a common noun, as a Hercules, a Calvary, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > proper noun

proper namec1300

proper noun?a1500

c1300Propre name [see sense A. 3a].

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 159 (MED) Þo his propre name was i-chaunged, as it happeþ in confirmacioun of children.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 6 Adam, propyr name, Adam.

1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xvii. 109 As for their place, the great letters ar to begin full sentences, as. The kingdom of heauen is redie for the repentant. And proper names, as. The cursed Cain killed the good Abell.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. iii. 190 If we had Reason to mention particular Horses, as often as..particular Men, we should have proper Names for the one, as familiar as for the other; and Bucephalus would be a Word as much in use, as Alexander.

1720 D. Waterland 8 Serm. Divinity of Christ 117 Supposing Jehovah to be meerly a proper name.

1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. i. v. §2 Proper names have strictly no meaning: they are mere marks for individual objects.

1917 E. Wharton Summer i. 17 ‘I saw you going into her house just now, didn't I?’ she asked, with the New England avoidance of the proper name.

2006 Times Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) (Nexis) 22 Feb. c8 Confidentiality is guaranteed; proper names, company identity and distinguishing points of reference are changed to protect anonymity.

proper noun n. Grammar a noun that designates an individual person, place, organization, animal, ship, etc., and is usually written with an initial capital letter; cf. proper name n. and common noun n. at common adj. and adv. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > proper noun

proper namec1300

proper noun?a1500

?a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) II. 14 (MED) Thynk of propur nownnys, Both of kastels and of townnys.

1694 A. Boyer Compl. French-master ii. 9 A Proper Noun is the particular Name of any single thing.

1791 H. Dimock Notes on Bk. of Psalms 323 A proper noun is supplied to the plural verbs and affixes.

1898 A. B. Davidson et al. Dict. of Bible 36 Adam naturally fluctuates between a common and proper noun.

1992 Eng. Today Apr. 35/1 Paralleling this we note other Arabic proper nouns borrowed into English: Hezbollah (‘Party of God’).

† proper-parted adj. Obsolete having all requisite qualities, accomplishments, etc.; admirably or excellently talented or accomplished; cf. part n.¹ 15.

ΚΠ

1608 T. Middleton Your Fiue Gallants sig. E2 'Tis pitty such a proper-parted gentleman should want.

Proper Preface n. Christian Church any of various special formulas interpolated in the ordinary preface on major feast days.

ΚΠ

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxvi^v Here shall folowe the proper preface.

1735 Addr. to Conforming Arians 24 The proper Preface upon the Feast of the Trinity.

1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 353 The Ordinary Preface, to be said daily, except in Feasts and their Octaves having Proper Prefaces.

2000 K. B. Westerfield Tucker Amer. Methodist Worship 137 Common Preface [with option of adding a Proper Preface for Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost].

† proper prime n. Mathematics Obsolete a prime number having the property that, when it is the denominator of a vulgar fraction, the recurring period of the equivalent decimal fraction consists of the highest possible number of figures, i.e. one less than the prime number itself.

ΚΠ

1864 W. H. H. Hudson in Messenger of Math. II. 1 If the period of d consist of d − 1 places, d is called a proper prime.

proper time n. [after German Eigenzeit (H. Minkowski 1908, in Nachrichten von der Königlichen Ges. der Wissensch. zu Göttingen: Math.-Physikalische Klasse 103)] Physics and Mathematics the time interval between two events in space–time as measured by a (hypothetical) clock travelling between the two events; time as measured by an observer's own clock.

ΚΠ

1911 W. de Sitter in Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 71 392 The variable τ is called by Minkowski the ‘Eigenzeit’ of the point.., which may be translated by ‘proper-time’.

1942 P. G. Berman Introd. Theory Relativity iv. 41 Whenever the two events can be just connected by a light ray which leaves the site of one event at the time it occurs and arrives at the site of the other event as it takes place, the proper time interval τ₁₂ between them vanishes.

1990 I. R. Kenyon Gen. Relativity (BNC) 108 The proper time τ as recorded by an on-board clock would change smoothly on crossing the [event] horizon.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	proper
释义	properadj.n.adv. Brit. /ˈprɒpə/, U.S. /ˈprɑpər/ Forms: Middle English popir (transmission error), Middle English propere, Middle English prople (transmission error), Middle English propour, Middle English þroper (transmission error), Middle English–1500s propir, Middle English–1500s propire, Middle English–1500s propure, Middle English–1500s propyr, Middle English–1500s (1900s– English regional) propur, Middle English–1600s propre, Middle English– proper, 1500s proppre, 1500s propyre, 1500s– propper (now regional and nonstandard), 1600s prooper, 1900s– prapper (English regional (Dorset)); also Scottish pre-1700 propir, pre-1700 propire, pre-1700 proppir, pre-1700 propre, pre-1700 proprie (perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 propyr, pre-1700 propyre. N.E.D. (1908) also records a form Middle English propyre. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French proper; Latin proprius. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman proper, propire, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French propre (French propre ; also in Old French as popre , transmission error) belonging exclusively to one person, private, personal (c1130), particular, peculiar (1224–7), rendering a concept exactly (c1265), that is the same, identical (c1280), that genuinely is the specified thing (c1280), suitable, appropriate (c1280), (of clothes) immaculate (c1280), (of a person) capable (1370), (of language) correct (1396), (of a person) elegant, meticulously neat (a1525) and its etymon classical Latin proprius one's own, personal, private, peculiar, special, particular, suitable, appropriate, expressed in appropriate terms, literal, (of a word) having its own literal meaning, denoting a particular person or place (of uncertain and disputed origin: see below). With use as noun compare classical Latin proprium (see proprium n.), Anglo-Norman and Middle French propre private property, wealth (first half of the 13th cent. in Old French), particular quality (14th cent.); compare also own pron. used predicatively or absolutely. With use as adverb compare Middle French propre properly (1452, rare). Compare Old Occitan propri (13th cent. as adjective and noun), Catalan propi (12th cent. as propri, adjective), Spanish propio (13th cent.; 12th cent. as proprio), Portuguese proprio (964 as probio), Italian proprio (1221 as adjective; second half of the 13th cent. (as propio) as noun).Classical Latin proprius is thought by some to derive from pro- pro- prefix¹ + an unattested form from the same Indo-European base as free adj. An alternative derivation from an unattested classical Latin phrase prō prīvō in the capacity of an individual ( < prō* pro prep. + prīvō , ablative of prīvus separate, single, individual: see prive v.) encounters phonological difficulties. In senses A. 3d and A. 6 after German eigen own, proper, characteristic (see own adj.; compare eigen- comb. form); compare proper time n. The reason for the use as postmodifier in sense A. 7c is unclear. In sense B. 4 apparently short for proper respect + plural ending -s (probably merely euphonic). A. adj. I. Senses denoting suitability or conformity. 1. Suitable for a specified or implicit purpose or requirement; appropriate to the circumstances or conditions; of the requisite standard or type; apt, fitting; correct, right. ΘΚΠ society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective] goodOE proper?c1225 felea1250 featc1325 seeming1338 rightful1340 thriftyc1386 sittingc1390 duea1393 truea1398 goodly1398 convenienta1400 wella1400 seemc1400 likelyc1425 fitc1440 tallc1440 befalling1542 fittinga1616 the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > [adjective] > fitting or proper methelyeOE ylikeeOE fairOE i-meteOE rightOE becomelyc1175 proper?c1225 featc1325 conablea1340 rightful1340 worthyc1350 pursuanda1375 covenable1382 dignec1385 convenablec1386 thriftyc1386 sittingc1390 comenablea1400 gainlya1400 meeta1400 wortha1400 convenientc1400 meetlya1425 suinga1425 fitc1440 tallc1440 worthyc1450 good1477 dueful?a1527 beseeminga1530 fitting1535 straighta1538 decent1539 answerable1542 becoming1565 condecent1575 becomed1599 respective1605 befittinga1612 comely1617 decorous1664 shape-like1672 beseemly1737 farrantly?1748 fitly1840 in order1850 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] rightOE namely?c1225 lealc1330 very1338 truec1400 justc1425 exquisite1541 precise?a1560 jump1581 accuratea1599 nice1600 refined1607 punctual1608 press?1611 square1632 exact1645 unerring1665 proper1694 correct1705 pointed1724 prig1776 precisivea1805 as right as a trivet1835 spot on1936 ?c1225 (?a1200) [implied in: Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 78 Lokið hu propreliche þe lauedi in canticis..leareð ow bi hire saȝe hu ȝe schule seggen. (at properly adv. 1)]. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 103 Ich am þet am..amang alle þe heȝe names of oure lhorde, þis is þe uerste and þe mest propre [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues proprist; French li plus propres]. a1400 Twelve Profits of Tribulation (Royal) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 50 (MED) He shal shere a-way þo vnnayte loue of þi hert..to þat þat þo loue of þi hert ne passe not his propre termes. a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 2474 (MED) Nature & þingis of arte Haue a propre tyme assigned for theire parte. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 321/2 Proper or apte or that serveth to a purpose, duict, duicte. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 203 Tis proper I obey him, but not now. View more context for this quotation 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 132 The fruit of Cocos,..of great vertue to purge all humours, and proper for all diseases. 1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 122 They sometimes use the Adz..when the Ax or some other properer Tool lies not at hand. 1694 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) III. 258 To enquire of the properest methods to carry on our trade. 1772 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra II. lxviii. 313 He might introduce whatever novelties he thought proper. 1795 W. Cowper Pairing Time 64 Choose not alone a proper mate, But proper time to marry. 1830 J. Lindley Introd. Nat. Syst. Bot. 91 Boiling the chips..until the inspissated juice has acquired a proper consistency. 1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight vi. 70 The proper time to commence using glasses. 1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out ii. 21 She got..a disquisition upon the proper method of making roads. 1920 Act 10 & 11 George V c.76 §10 (1) The committee..shall, as they think proper, either grant or refuse the certificate within one month. 1952 C. Mackenzie Rival Monster xii. 154 I wanted to approach Miss Ross through the proper channels. 1996 Independent 3 Jan. 3/4 People take all possible precautions, wearing the proper equipment and skiing with a ski guide. 2. a. Conforming to recognized social standards or etiquette; decent, decorous, respectable, seemly. Frequently in predicative use. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [adjective] > seemly or proper seemly?c1225 comelya1350 seemc1400 ablea1500 setting1535 decent1545 civil1582 proper1738 gradely1763 decorous1792 nice1799 correctc1800 proprietous1815 the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > pleasing fitness > [adjective] > seemly or decorous seemly?c1225 comelya1350 seemc1400 setting1535 comingc1540 decent1545 civil1582 handsome1583 mensefula1598 sprunt1631 semblable1647 proper1738 orthodox1755 decorous1792 comme il faut1818 wise-like1820 1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. a2 How the Author came to be without his Papers, is a Story not proper to be told. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 271. ¶4 If it had been proper for them [sc. ladies] to hear,..the Author would not have wrapp'd it up in Greek.] 1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 79 That won't be proper; you know, To-morrow's Sunday. 1799 M. Geisweiler tr. A. von Kotzebue Poverty & Nobleness of Mind iii. vii. 102 Child, what are you thinking about? It is not proper. 1812–13 P. B. Shelley in E. Dowden Life Shelley (1886) I. 327 So you do not know whether it is proper to write to me? 1831 W. M. Praed Stanzas Boccaccio iv Then Guilt will read the properest books, And Folly wear the soberest looks. 1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xvi. 261 When will you learn what's proper? 1899 E. Nesbit Story of Treasure Seekers xvi. 288 We said we should be delighted, if Father had no objection, because that is the proper thing to say. 1935 G. Santayana Last Puritan iii. iii. 318 You can't talk to an elderly man about your love affairs; it wouldn't be proper. 1998 P. Bonnell in E. ap Hywel Power 130 Sometimes my Mam calls to me—‘Husht girl! It's not proper bawling out them hymns like you was up in the gods at the Empire Theatre! Won't you never learn to act like decent folks!’ b. spec. Of a person: behaving according to social norms or polite usage; decorous, well-mannered; correct, respectable (occasionally with implication of stiff formality). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [adjective] > seemly or proper > specifically of persons proper1818 1818 T. Moore Fudge Family in Paris x. 72 We dined at a tavern—La, what do I say?..a Restaurateur's, dear; Where your properest ladies go dine every day. 1871 J. S. Blackie Four Phases Morals i. 30 Very proper and respectable gentlemen. 1880 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXVI. 466 You hear very proper people..cry out against some of us. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xix. 216 She's awfully prim and proper and she'll scold dreadfully about this. 1953 A. Miller Crucible 43 I never sold myself! I'm a good girl! I'm a proper girl! 1979 D. Halberstam Powers that Be (1980) I. iv. 183 Sarnoff was a correct and proper man, sensitive about his own simple background and his position in America. 1997 C. B. Divakaruni Mistress of Spices 226 He is very proper, very shy, he will probably just drop off a gift beforehand. II. Senses denoting possession by or relation to a particular person or thing. 3. a. Chiefly Grammar. Designating a name or noun which denotes (uniquely or otherwise) a particular person, place, country, title, etc., and which is usually written with an initial capital letter. Opposed to common adj. 17.Recorded earliest in compounds. ΚΠ c1300 St. Mary Magdalen (Laud) 18 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 462 Heo was icleoped in propre name, þe Maudeleyne. ?a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) II. 14 (MED) Thynk of propur nownnys, Both of kastels and of townnys. 1616 T. Granger Syntagma Grammaticum sig. D The Absolute Substantiue is proper, or common. 1779 Accomplished Letter-writer 36 None but Substantives, whether common, proper, or personal, may begin with a Capital. 1871 B. H. Kennedy Public School Lat. Gram. 23 Nouns or Names are Individual or Proper..which can only be applied to single persons, places, or objects. 1992 D. Gabrovs̆ek in C. Blank Lang. & Civilization I. 57 Edward D. Johnson claims that in practice the question of whether a given noun is proper or generic is merely whether or not to capitalize it. b. Belonging or relating to a specified person or thing distinctively or exclusively; characteristic; particular (to). In quot. c1450: separate, distinct; cf. properly adv. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [adjective] > individual or distinct sunderlyeOE sundryOE serec1175 proper1340 serelepesa1400 sundrylepesc1400 sunderlepesa1450 peculiar1509 several1533 unconfounded1577 well-distinguished1594 articulate1603 unconfused1609 inconfused1626 separate1691 demarcated1862 the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [adjective] > belonging to a particular thing or person specialc1230 proper1340 peculiara1475 specifical?a1475 singular?a1513 private1526 privy1560 personed1565 individual1570 particular1582 idiotical1655 specific1665 sacred1667 specific1667 specifiala1670 idiomatic1771 idiomatical1774 appropriate1796 exclusive1804 propriate1820 especial1854 dedicated1969 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 76 (MED) Vor þis wordle is ase a fayre, huer byeþ manye fole chapmen, þet of alle þinges hi knaweþ þe propre uirtue and þet worþ. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 760 (MED) The dreie Colre..his propre sete Hath in the galle. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 102 (MED) In þat lond of Caldee þei han here propre langages & here propre lettres. c1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Rawl.) (1869) B. x. 237 (MED) [c1400 Laud Three] propre [persones, ac nouȝt in plurel noumbre, For al is but on god]. a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 193 (MED) The apostle sayde to hym..‘Go to hym and aske at hym what þyng is moste propur to man.’ 1584 D. Fenner Artes of Logike & Rethorike ii. sig. B2^v Adiontes are eyther Common, or Proper... A proper adionte is that which is alwayes ioyned to one and the same subiect. So righteousnes faith, ioye in the holy Ghost, are the proper adiontes to the children of God. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 4 Their feet are proper and not like mans,..for they are like great hands. a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 6 Endemial and local Infirmities proper unto certain Regions. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. i. viii. 16 A Proper Receptacle, is that which belongs only to the Parts of a single Fructification. 1830 J. Lindley Introd. Nat. Syst. Bot. 171 Flowers..having an involucrum which is either common or proper. 1870 J. Tyndall Lect. Electr. §66. 13 The notion of two kinds of electricity, one proper to vitreous bodies,..the other proper to resinous bodies. 1920 T. S. Eliot Sacred Wood 73 We forget that there is a rhetoric proper to Shakespeare at his best period which is quite free from the genuine Shakespearean vices either of the early period or the late. 1955 A. S. Romer Vertebr. Body (ed. 2) iii. 79 The Proboscidea (whose name derives from their trunk) are represented today only by the two elephant types proper to Africa and to southern Asia. 1992 T. Moore Care of Soul (1994) viii. 158 Hillman and Sardello suggest that it is the function of the body to give us emotions and images proper to its highly articulated organs. c. Christian Church. Designating a service, psalm, lesson, etc., specially appointed for a particular day or season. See also sense B. 2. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > [adjective] > particular properc1384 c1384 Table of Lessons in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (1850) 683 First ben sett sondaies and ferials togider, and after that the sanctorum, bothe comyn and propre togider, of al the ȝeer. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Mattyns f. i^v Then shal folow certaine Psalmes in ordre as they been appointed..except there be propre Psalmes appointed for that day. 1678 V. Alsop Melius Inquirendum ii. v. 235 The ordinary service thereof gives place to the proper service of that festival. 1785 (title) Abridgement of the New Version of the Psalms for the use of Charlotte-Street Chapel..to which are added a Morning and Evening Hymn and Proper Hymns for Festivals. 1837 Times 10 July 4 Mr. French, one of the choir, gave out the proper psalms, the 29th and the 90th. They were chanted to Purcell's..single chant, which is always used on these melancholy occasions. 1861 F. H. A. Scrivener Plain Introd. Crit. New Test. i. 64 The proper services for the great feasts and fasts. 1908 N.E.D. (at cited word) Hymns, with proper Tunes. The Psalms and Canticles, with proper Chants. 1936 Times 17 Apr. 17 A resolution was carried..inviting the Archbishop and the Bishops to submit proposals for the provision of..a table of proper Psalms for Sundays and Holy Days. 1990 R. Crocker & D. Hiley Early Middle Ages to 1300 43 The Parakletike..is an important book for the study of hymnography as it contains the proper hymns for Offices as well as for the Divine Liturgy in the course of the church year. d. Physics. In the theory of relativity: designating a property or quantity associated with a body or point in space (such as time, mass, length, etc.) as measured in the inertial frame in which it is at rest. Originally in proper time n. at Compounds. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > relativity > space-time > [adjective] > prefix distinguishing quantities proper1911 1911 W. de Sitter in Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 71 392 The variable τ is called by Minkowski the ‘Eigenzeit’ of the point.., which may be translated by ‘proper-time’. 1923 Proc. Royal Soc. 1922–3 A. 102 530 Where m and (−e) are the ‘proper mass’ and charge of the electron respectively. 1936 N. Feather Introd. Nucl. Physics iii. 52 The possibility arises of deducing not only proper energies, but also quantum numbers, from the experimental data. 1952 C. Møller Theory of Relativity iv. 137 While q⁰/c² expresses the source density of proper mass, we see that the source density for relativistic mass is ((f.u) + q)/c². 1970 Nature 17 Oct. 272/1 Proper mass (equivalently, rest-mass, proper energy, or rest-energy) is the most important Lorentz-invariant scalar associated with any system. 4. Belonging to as a possession, attribute, or quality; (one or its) own; owned as property; that is a property or quality of the person or thing specified; intrinsic, inherent. Usually preceded by a possessive adjective (cf. own adj. 1). Now archaic except in specific (chiefly scientific) contexts. in (one's) proper person [after post-classical Latin in propria persona (frequently 1214–1350 in British sources); compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French en propre personne (1309 in Old French in plural as en propres persones; French en (sa) propre personne)] : in one's own person. † proper thing n. Obsolete one's own thing, a property. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [adjective] propera1325 indwelling14.. resident1525 subsistenta1530 corporate1531 immanent1535 intrinsical?1545 integral1551 inexistent1553 internal1564 subjective1564 insident1583 inward1587 inherent1588 imminent1605 inhering1609 intern1612 subjectory1614 intimate1632 inhesive1639 intrinsic1642 implantate1650 medullary1651 implicit1658 inexisting1678 originala1682 indwelt1855 the mind > possession > owning > [adjective] > own owneOE owneOE nowna1325 propera1325 nainc1480 ownty-downty1815 the world > space > place > presence > present [phrase] > in person in (one's) proper persona1325 in one's (own) persona1393 in person1436 in one's own personagec1534 in propria persona1654 the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [adjective] > relating to self > belonging to oneself, itself, etc. selfOE propera1325 selfly1605 a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) vii. 56 Ant himsulf go in propre persone ant make þe siwte. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 236 (MED) Þe coupe is þe chalis; his bread and his wyn, þet is, his propre bodi and his propre blod. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith xv. 14 Alle þe propre [L. peculiaria] richesses of olofernes þat ben proued to han ben, þei ȝeuyn to Judit in gold & siluer & cloþes & jemmes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 562 An saul has propre thinges [= properties] thre. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 325 To haf in heritage..als a propire þing, þat were conquest tille him. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 4958 (MED) For to sytte in dome in proper parsoun. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 23 (MED) With his owne propre swerd he was slayn. a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 449 Ȝif persouns hadden no glebe and no propre hous as eritage, þey sueden more crist & his apostlis. 1531 W. Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1538) sig. E Some call themselues poore without hauinge any thinge proper. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. xxxiii. 300 Neither have they any master to whom they are proper. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 60 Euen with such like valour, men hang, and drowne Their proper selues. View more context for this quotation 1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 700 The said leiger-book which was then my proper book, is now in Bodlies Library. 1718 G. Sewell Proclam. Cupid 9 Ill is the Bird that soils his proper Nest. a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) App. 4. 188 I shall end my letter, my dear Dr. Franklin, with a personal application to your proper self. 1814 T. Jefferson Let. 10 Feb. in Writings (1984) 1322 In the ecclesiastical court..this inquisition was to be at the suit of either claimant, and was not ex-officio to be instituted by the bishop, and at his proper costs. 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxvi. 43 To cloak me from my proper scorn. View more context for this quotation 1852 N. Hawthorne Blithedale Romance v. 45 He ought to have commenced his investigation of the subject by perpetrating some huge sin in his proper person, and examining the condition of his higher instincts afterwards. 1877 M. Oliphant tr. Dante in Makers of Florence (ed. 2) iii. 79 To judge..with my proper eyes. 1881 Nature 8 Sept. 430/1 He concludes that the cause of the ‘proper’ light of the comet is the illumination of its constituent molecules by electric discharge. 1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xxiii. 225 I am sure I wished no ill to King George; and if he had been there himself in proper person, it's like he would have done as I did. 1920 A. MacLeish Let. 12 Oct. (1983) 76 Whether he will live in his own proper person with his own lovliness [sic] & gentleness & timbre we cannot know. 1980 A. Thwaite Victorian Voices 29 No matter that the London functionaries Hold back my proper monies. 5. Heraldry. Represented in natural or realistic colours rather than in conventional tinctures. ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic tincture > [adjective] > natural colour proper1572 1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 95^v Twoo Cypres trees raguled Solis, enwrapped with Ivy proper. 1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xii. 123 By Proper is euermore vnderstood his naturall colour. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 409/1 The City of Oxford beareth Azure, a Book open, proper; with seven Seals between three Crowns Or. c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 193 A turkey Cock on each Cut in stone and painted proper. 1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 457/2 ‘Gules, three Legs armed proper, conjoined in the Fess-point’... This is the coat of arms of the Isle of Man. 1863 C. Boutell Heraldry Hist. & Pop. (ed. 2) xvii. 243 The Crest of the Duke of Rutland is, on a chapeau gu.., lined erm., a peacock in its pride, proper. 1977 O. Neubecker Heraldry Sources, Symbols & Meaning 135 The color of the maple leaves on the shield was originally blazoned as ‘proper’ (naturally coloured). 2004 Guardian (Nexis) 12 June 61 One Heraldry Society member has a crest featuring ‘a border terrier statant argent gorged with a wreath of watercress proper’. 6. Mathematics and Physics. = eigen- comb. form. a. Of a vibration or oscillation: = normal adj. 7. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > [adjective] > in simple harmonic motion normal1867 proper1873 1873 Proc. London Math. Soc. 4 258 The problem of determining the proper tones of any spherical cavity bounded by rigid walls. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 10/1 All elastic bodies, including metals, when made fast at one end, vibrate when subjected to a shock from outside. The vibrations so caused are what are known as proper vibrations. 1962 S.-I. Tomonaga Quantum Mech. I. i. 16 It was possible to arrange the proper oscillations in order by giving each of them an integral number s which has the physical meaning that (s − 1) is the number of nodes of the oscillation. 2004 Ultrasonics 42 622/1 Each bubble emits..a component with the fundamental frequency of its proper vibrations. b. Of a function or value: that is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue. ΚΠ 1930 A. E. Ruark & H. C. Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta xv. 526 Such an aggregate of E values is often referred to as a ‘spectrum of characteristic values’, or ‘proper values’. 1935 L. Pauling & E. B. Wilson Introd. Quantum Mech. iii. 58 The functions ψ_s(x) which satisfy Equation 9-8 and also certain auxiliary conditions..are variously called wave functions or eigenfunctions (Eigenfunktionen), or sometimes amplitude functions, characteristic functions, or proper functions. 1958 R. V. Andree Sel. Mod. Abstr. Algebra ix. 195 In quantum mechanics and elsewhere, the terms latent roots, proper value, eigenvalue, and eigenwerte are often used in place of characteristic root. 2004 Jrnl. Electr. Power & Energy Syst. 26 538/1 Eigenvalue analysis was performed to search proper values for them using the equivalent power system model. III. Senses denoting the accurate or strict use of the word or concept qualified, or the fulfilment of criteria understood or implied by it. 7. a. Such as a person or thing of the kind specified should be; admirable, excellent, fine; of high quality; of consequence, serious, worthy of consideration. Also used ironically (cf. fine adj. 7).Now merging with sense A. 7c. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] faireOE bremea1000 goodlyOE goodfulc1275 noblec1300 pricec1300 specialc1325 gentlec1330 fine?c1335 singulara1340 thrivena1350 thriven and throa1350 gaya1375 properc1380 before-passinga1382 daintiful1393 principala1398 gradelya1400 burlyc1400 daintyc1400 thrivingc1400 voundec1400 virtuousc1425 hathelc1440 curiousc1475 singlerc1500 beautiful1502 rare?a1534 gallant1539 eximious1547 jolly1548 egregious?c1550 jellyc1560 goodlike1562 brawc1565 of worth1576 brave?1577 surprising1580 finger-licking1584 admirablea1586 excellinga1586 ambrosial1598 sublimated1603 excellent1604 valiant1604 fabulous1609 pure1609 starryc1610 topgallant1613 lovely1614 soaringa1616 twanging1616 preclarent1623 primea1637 prestantious1638 splendid1644 sterling1647 licking1648 spankinga1666 rattling1690 tearing1693 famous1695 capital1713 yrare1737 pure and —1742 daisy1757 immense1762 elegant1764 super-extra1774 trimming1778 grand1781 gallows1789 budgeree1793 crack1793 dandy1794 first rate1799 smick-smack1802 severe1805 neat1806 swell1810 stamming1814 divine1818 great1818 slap-up1823 slapping1825 high-grade1826 supernacular1828 heavenly1831 jam-up1832 slick1833 rip-roaring1834 boss1836 lummy1838 flash1840 slap1840 tall1840 high-graded1841 awful1843 way up1843 exalting1844 hot1845 ripsnorting1846 clipping1848 stupendous1848 stunning1849 raving1850 shrewd1851 jammy1853 slashing1854 rip-staving1856 ripping1858 screaming1859 up to dick1863 nifty1865 premier cru1866 slap-bang1866 clinking1868 marvellous1868 rorty1868 terrific1871 spiffing1872 all wool and a yard wide1882 gorgeous1883 nailing1883 stellar1883 gaudy1884 fizzing1885 réussi1885 ding-dong1887 jim-dandy1888 extra-special1889 yum-yum1890 out of sight1891 outasight1893 smooth1893 corking1895 large1895 super1895 hot dog1896 to die for1898 yummy1899 deevy1900 peachy1900 hi1901 v.g.1901 v.h.c.1901 divvy1903 doozy1903 game ball1905 goodo1905 bosker1906 crackerjack1910 smashinga1911 jake1914 keen1914 posh1914 bobby-dazzling1915 juicy1916 pie on1916 jakeloo1919 snodger1919 whizz-bang1920 wicked1920 four-star1921 wow1921 Rolls-Royce1922 whizz-bang1922 wizard1922 barry1923 nummy1923 ripe1923 shrieking1926 crazy1927 righteous1930 marvy1932 cool1933 plenty1933 brahmaa1935 smoking1934 solid1935 mellow1936 groovy1937 tough1937 bottler1938 fantastic1938 readyc1938 ridge1938 super-duper1938 extraordinaire1940 rumpty1940 sharp1940 dodger1941 grouse1941 perfecto1941 pipperoo1945 real gone1946 bosting1947 supersonic1947 whizzo1948 neato1951 peachy-keen1951 ridgey-dite1953 ridgy-didge1953 top1953 whizzing1953 badass1955 wild1955 belting1956 magic1956 bitching1957 swinging1958 ridiculous1959 a treat1959 fab1961 bad-assed1962 uptight1962 diggish1963 cracker1964 marv1964 radical1964 bakgat1965 unreal1965 pearly1966 together1968 safe1970 bad1971 brilliant1971 fabby1971 schmick1972 butt-kicking1973 ripper1973 Tiffany1973 bodacious1976 rad1976 kif1978 awesome1979 death1979 killer1979 fly1980 shiok1980 stonking1980 brill1981 dope1981 to die1982 mint1982 epic1983 kicking1983 fabbo1984 mega1985 ill1986 posho1989 pukka1991 lovely jubbly1992 awesomesauce2001 nang2002 bess2006 amazeballs2009 boasty2009 daebak2009 beaut2013 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute shirea1225 purec1300 properc1380 plainc1395 cleana1400 fine?a1400 entirec1400 veryc1400 starka1425 utterc1430 utterlyc1440 merec1443 absolute1531 outright1532 cleara1535 bloodyc1540 unproachable1544 flat1553 downright1577 sheer1583 right-down?1586 single1590 peremptory1601 perfecta1616 downa1625 implicit1625 every way1628 blank1637 out-and-outa1642 errant1644 inaccessional1651 thorough-paced1651 even down1654 dead1660 double-dyed1667 through stitch1681 through-stitched1682 total1702 thoroughgoing1719 thorough-sped1730 regular1740 plumb1748 hollow1751 unextenuated1765 unmitigated1783 stick, stock, stone dead1796 positive1802 rank1809 heart-whole1823 skire1825 solid1830 fair1835 teetotal1840 bodacious1845 raw1856 literal1857 resounding1873 roaring1884 all out1893 fucking1893 pink1896 twenty-four carat1900 grand slam1915 stone1928 diabolical1933 fricking1937 righteous1940 fecking1952 raving1954 c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 5366 (MED) Sirs..comeþ ner, And seeþ a propre siȝte. c1390 G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale 309 So mote I then, thow art a propre man And lyk a prelat. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 51 (MED) ‘Here is propre seruice,’ quod pacience; ‘þer fareth no prynce bettere.’ c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 726 I wille Tellen the a propre skille. c1480 (a1400) St. John Baptist 243 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 230 John þe propereste profit was of al þat aperit in manis flesch. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cvii. 129 Ther wes many a proper feat of armes done. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xvi^v She had a proper wytte & coulde both reade and wryte. 1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande vii. f. 24^v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I A good humanitian, & a proper philosopher. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 310 Talke with a man out at a window, a proper saying. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. i. 129 A proper iest, and neuer heard before. View more context for this quotation 1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes 1st. Int. 10 in Wks. II I, shee is a proper piece! that such creatures can broke for. 1788 J. May Jrnl. 28 May (1873) (modernized text) 60 Major Doughty sent me a proper herring..which I salted. 1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey IV. vi. i. 35 Thou hast tasted thy liquor like a proper man. 1899 H. Pease Tales Northumbria 133 Wor Harry's a proper scholar. a1903 E. H. Goddard in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 630/2 [North Wiltshire] That's some proper taters, bean't um? b. Attractive, fair, handsome; elegant; well-made. Now regional. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] faireOE comelyOE winlyOE goodlyOE hendya1250 hendc1275 quaintc1300 seemlyc1305 tidya1325 avenant1340 honestc1384 sightya1387 properc1390 well beseena1393 queema1400 speciousa1400 featousc1400 parisantc1400 rekenc1400 well-favoureda1438 wellc1450 spectable?a1475 delicatec1480 jollya1500 bonny?a1513 snog1513 viewlyc1536 goodlikec1550 sightly1555 sightful1565 beholdinga1586 eyesome?1587 decent1600 vage1604 prospicuous1605 eyely1614 fashionable1630 well-looking1638 softa1643 fineish1647 well-looked1660 of a good (also ugly, etc.) look1700 likely-looked1709 sonsy1720 smiling1725 aspectable1731 smirkya1758 likely-looking1771 respectable1776 magnificent-looking1790 producible1792 presentable1800 good-looking1804 nice-looking1807 bonnyish1855 spick1882 eyeable1887 aegyo2007 c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3345 To loke on hire hym thoughte a mery lyf, She was so propre and swete and likerous. c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 686 (MED) The ryȝtwys man also sertayn, Aproche he schal þat proper pyle. ?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Bvij Lytell nell A proper wenche she daunsith well. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 125 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 98 That was ye proper pape Iaye provde in his apparale. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Heb. xi. 23 The same tyme was Moses borne, and was a propper childe [ Wyclif fair or semely; Rheims a proper infant]. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 3080 The brede of hir brest, bright on to loke, Was..ffresshe and of fyne hew as þe fome clere: With two propur pappes, as a peire rounde. 1602 J. Brereton Briefe Relation Discouerie Virginia 4 We espied an Indian, a yong man, of proper stature, and of a pleasing countenance. 1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 77 These Indians..were very proper, tall and lusty men. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 189 One of the properest buildings North of Trent. c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 129 One of white marble..the sinewes and veines..so finely done as to appear very proper. 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. ii. 25 By St. Anne! but he is a proper youth. 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II To make proper, to adorn. 1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. iv. 138 If he had but been a head taller, they had never seen a properer man. 1903 E. H. Goddard in Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 630/1 Them flowers look proper. c. (a) Strictly or accurately so called; in the strict use of the word; genuine, real. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > accurately so named rightOE verya1300 verya1387 perfectc1387 propera1398 veritable1483 real?1505 dinkum1914 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 48 Bees..hauen no voys, but he makeþ a voys in fleinge..a frogge haþ propir voys [L. vocem propriam]. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 189 (MED) It is leeful, in proprist maner of leefulnes, that pilgrimagis be doon. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 367 May þou hald me þis hest..And profe þus in my presens as a propire sothe. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 49 (MED) Neþeles þese twelue signys beþ not siche propre beestis as þei han her names aftir, but by weye of philosophie þei beþ y-likned to siche maner of beestis. c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 1, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Proper Quhow monye propir kyndis fallis to music mensurall? Fyvetein..Mesur..tym..figur..paus [etc.]. 1610 Bible (Douay) II. Psalms xciii. 1 Annot. 173 The Holie Ghost is the proper auctor, and a man is the writer. 1734 G. Sale Preliminary Disc. i. 2 in tr. Koran Proper Arabia is by the oriental writers generally divided into five provinces. 1752 P. Petit Hebrew Guide sig. Nj Vowels are X Proper..and IV Improper, i.e. which are scarcely sounded. 1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. vii. 101 Rome asserts that in the mass a true and proper sacrifice is offered. 1924 G. Horne & G. Aiston Savage Life in Central Austral. 34 The celebrated Beltana deposit of ochre..is considered the ‘proper’ ochre..although plenty, hundreds of miles nearer, could be easily obtained. 1984 A. Thwaite Edmund Gosse i. 16 He had worked with magnifying slides but he had never had a proper microscope. 1986 Manchester Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 5 Oct. 19 I insist on being treated by a proper doctor. 2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 3 Almost immediately I became a punk. Not a proper fuck-off punk with a cockatoo hairdo and DESTROY tattooed across his forehead. (b) As postmodifier, designating the part or aspect of a larger entity that is most accurately so called. ΚΠ 1796 D. MacPherson Geogr. Illustr. Sc. Hist. Albany, Albania, Scotland, strictly speaking the country between the Forth and the Spey, or Scotland proper. 1807 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. (ed. 3) II. 89 The earths proper do not unite with oxygen... Characters of the alkaline and proper earths. 1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. i. 7 Extending principles which belong..to building, into the sphere of architecture proper. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 458 The concussion..may be limited either to the cerebrum proper, or to the medulla and pons. 1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art xv. 330 Obviously this can be done only if all parties entirely get rid of the idea that the art in question is a kind of amusement, and see it as a serious job, art proper. 1975 Countryman Autumn 30 Apart from the garden proper, there is a great area to the north which is being planted with trees. 2005 Yorks. Evening Post (Nexis) 18 Jan. US favourites like meatloaf, BBQ chicken with fried yams, [etc.],..are all on a three-course menu of soul food that's being served up before the music proper gets under way. d. Esp. as an intensifier, in depreciative or derogatory contexts: answering fully to the description; thorough, complete; perfect. Now colloquial. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute > of something bad or reprobated properc1430 arrant1639 erranta1720 defecated1796 unredeemed1799 blank1854 first class1868 prize1903 mucking1917 c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 259 He nys but a verray propre fol That loveth paramours, to harde and hote. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iii. l. 166 Throw matelent and werray propyr Ire. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 377 Quhen the king his folk has sene Begyn to faile for propyr tene Hys assenȝhe gan he cry. a1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) 27 A leddy als, for luf, to tak Ane propir page, hir tyme to pas. 1680 J. Owen Continuation Expos. Hebrews vi. 93 Not to be thankful for Gifts, is the most proper ingratitude. a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) (at cited word) ‘The mischievous boy got a proper licking’. ‘Tom is a proper rogue’. 1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe II. xxi. 327 Old Markham seems in a proper taking. 1871 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. Jan. 45 There will be a proper blow-up about this. 1935 E. Bowen House in Paris ii. v. 139 His and Karen's talk was light, unadvancing: proper Michaelis talk. 1960 G. W. Target Teachers 165 ‘They said Liddon Road was a proper caper,’ he said, ‘and now I know.’ 1991 A. Carter Wise Children (1992) i. 39 She looked like a proper harlot, poor little thing, in her fishnets and her leather mini. e. Esp. of language, a word, etc.: strictly applicable; accurate, correct; †literal, not metaphorical (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > literal meaning > [adjective] stafflyc1000 native1579 proper1579 literal1597 Nicodemical1642 alphabetical1643 unallegorical1776 unsymbolic1871 non-figurative1900 c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 166 In properist maner of speking. 1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 72 Qvhy diminiss ȝe or takis away..the trew and propir sentence fra ws, of this part of our Catholik beleif? 1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 236 The sense of that place is proper, and not figuratiue. 1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 877 When the Scripture saith, that the Lord God is unchaungeable, it is a proper speach, because he is so of his owne nature..When it sayth: Hee went down to see the Tower of Babel, then it is an improper speach. 1694 J. Taylor Symbolon Theologikon 242 God himself is not in proper manner of speaking in two places, he is not capable of being in any place at all. 1769 T. Pennant in Philos. Trans. 1768 (Royal Soc.) 58 96 The proper name of these birds is Pinguin... It has been corrupted to Penguin. 1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 43 As I was walking along the common—blown along would be the properer phrase. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 272/2 Arachnids are not, in a proper sense, subject to metamorphosis. 1951 J. H. Meisel Genesis of Georges Sorel 65 Sorel flatly denies that Christianity ever developed a proper social morality in the proper meaning of the word. 1995 F. Brentano et al. Psychol. from Empirical Standpoint 17 Those who deny the existence of a substantial soul cannot speak of the immortality of the soul in the proper sense of the word. f. Very; identical. Now English regional. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > [adjective] the ilkeOE selfeOE oneOE no nothera1325 that ilk (thilk) same1390 one self?a1425 selfsamec1425 the same self1503 proper1523 one (and the) selfsame1531 self-said1548 one and the same1551 identical1581 the same very1590 the very same1597 individuala1602 individually the same1604 a (also one) selfly1605 very1611 same1621 numerical1624 numeric1663 identic1664 synonymous1789 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cclxxxv. 426 The same proper night Sir Thomas Grantson was departed. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 10 But loa, the proper image of corps vntumbed apeered In dreame to Dido. 1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1866) 1st Ser. x. 178 Act..like his proper self. 1899 H. Pease Tales Northumbria 125 A proper marrow of himself in shape and size. †8. Of good character or standing; honest, respectable, worthy. Obsolete.Now merged with sense A. 2b. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [adjective] > respectable substantious1490 proper1600 creditable1624 decent1712 respectable1750 gradely1763 pukka1776 nice1799 salonfähig1905 quite1907 resp1922 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. ii. 146 A proper gentlewoman. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iv. iii. 218 An aduertisement to a proper maide in Florence..to take heede of the allurement of one Count Rossillion. View more context for this quotation 1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iv. 235 The Other, S^r Philip Stapleton, was a proper man, of a fair extraction. 1765 T. Gray Shakespeare in Corr. Gray & W. Mason (1853) 339 3 'Tis Willey begs, once a right proper man. 1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles III. li. 189 ‘What about you?’ ‘I am not a—proper woman.’ 9. Mathematics. Designating a subset, subgroup, etc., that does not constitute the entire set, group, etc.; spec. designating such a subgroup, subring, etc., that does not consist solely of the identity element of the group, ring, etc., concerned. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of sets > in abstract algebra proper1906 the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of sets > in abstract algebra > of groups reducible1585 transitive1861 primitive1888 simple1888 special1888 cyclic1889 intransitive1889 solvable1892 finite1893 perfect1898 Abelian1900 soluble1902 proper1906 trivial1915 equivalent1948 hypercyclic1968 sporadic1968 1906 W. H. Young & G. C. Young Theory of Sets of Points iii. 16 A set which is contained entirely in another set is called a component of the latter set, and, if there are points of the latter set not belonging to the former set, it is said to be a proper component of the other. 1937 R. D. Carmichael Introd. Theory Groups of Finite Order i. 28 A subgroup of G which is not identical with G is called a proper subgroup of G. 1953 W. Ledermann Introd. Theory Finite Groups ii. 31 Every group G has two trivial or improper subgroups namely, G itself and the group which consists of the unit element by itself (I² = I); all other subgroups are called proper subgroups. 1972 C. S. Ogilvy Tomorrow's Math (ed. 2) 161 A first step in the reorganization of preconceived notions is the concept that a point-set can be congruent to a proper subset of itself. 1992 J. G. Oxley Matroid Theory vi. 213 The reader should have no difficulty in showing that each of the inclusions indicated in this diagram is proper. B. n. 1. a. That which is one's own; a personal possession; private property; esp. in one's own proper. Now Irish English (northern) and rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > that which is one's own propera1382 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 3 Esdras vi. 32 Whoso euere ouer passen any-thing of þese thingis þat ben writen, be þer taken a tree of þer owne propre [L. de suis propriis]..be þei hangid. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 2374 Þei suffred hym no thyng to take, his awen propir for to make. ?c1430 (c1400) Rule St. Francis (Corpus Cambr.) in F. D. Matthew Eng. Wks. Wyclif (1880) 40 Lyuynge in obedience, wiþ-outen propre. 1456 Regist. de Aberbrothoc (Bannatyne Club) II. 89 The proppis that passis estwart betwix the propir and the commoun. a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 130 How moche thou mayste despende of thyn owyn propyr. 1524 King Henry VIII Instruct. Pace in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. xiii. 26 Redounding to their honours & suerties, as his awne propers. ?1550 J. Bale Apol. agaynste Papyst 22 I frire N. make my profession and promyse obedience to God, to S. Frances..to live without propre and in chastite accordynge to the rule of the sayd ordre. 1592 Edinb. Test. XXIV. f. 214, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) That the samyn [goods and gear] remane with him as his awin proper but..clame of me. 1664 Irvine Deeds (MS) in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (1986) VI. 314/2 [The goods] to be..desponit upon be thame as thair awine proper. a1908 H. C. Hart MS Coll. Ulster Words in M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal (1953) 220/1 Proper,..property. Cut their bog as their proper. †b. in proper: in individual possession; as private property; as one's own. Opposed to in common. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > owning > [adverb] > as private property properly1340 in proper1391 1391 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 23 Alsmekle land heretable as the said erle..has now in propir in demayn. c1400 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 415 (MED) Crist was herberowid in symple houses of oþer comyne men; þese freris have in propur houses of coste. 1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 101 We seyen we han riȝt nouȝt in propre ne in comoun. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. pr. ii. 13 Yif thou maist schewen me that ever any mortel man hath resceyved ony of tho thynges to ben his in propre. a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 413 (MED) What lewid skile shulde moue of þis þat prestis shulden be seculer lordis, or haue worldly godis in propre. 1553 T. Becon Relikes of Rome (1563) 215 Christ and his Apostles had no possessions neyther in proper nor in commune. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage viii. vi. 641 They haue their lands and gardens in proper. 1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule of Holy Living (1727) iii. §3. 171 They could not have that in proper, which God made to be common. 2. Christian Church. That part of the Eucharist or liturgical offices which is varied according to the calendar or the particular occasion; an office or part of an office, as a psalm, lesson, etc., or portion of the Eucharist, appointed for a particular occasion or season. Opposed to common n.¹ 5. Cf. sense A. 3c. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > [noun] > service for particular propera1500 c1384 Table of Lessons in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (1850) 696 Here endith the Propre Sanctorum, and now bigynneth the Commoun Sanctorum.] a1500 Rule Minoresses in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 110 (MED) At þe blessinge of þe tabel at mete, but whan þey haue propre, Oculi omnium, [etc.]. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Ordre Holy Scripture sig. A.ii^v The Collect, Epistle and Gospell appoynted for the Sundaie, shall serue all the weeke after, except there fall some feast that hath his propre. 1719 Evening-office of Church (ed. 2) p. i What is wanting in the Proper either for Sundays or Saints, is to be supply'd out of the Common. 1851 G. Rorison Hymns & Anthems Introd. 23 The Proper of the Season and the Proper of Saints, for which [the Prayer Book] provides Epistles and Gospels. 1882–3 Schaff's Encycl. Relig. Knowl. 2064 The regular [R.C.] orders have also in most cases a Proper, containing offices of saints belonging to their rule. 1933 Burlington Mag. June 276/1 It is a ‘proper’ of the Augustinian order. 1988 Jrnl. Royal Mus. Assoc. 113 279 We can see that the 89 liturgical ones [sc. texts] favour no particular category; 39% are from the Proper of the Saints, 33% from the Proper of the Time and 28% from the Common of the Saints. 1994 R. Davies Cunning Man 315 We go to the eleven o'clock solemn High Mass, with plain-song propers sung by the Ritual Choir..and a missa brevis and motet sung by the Gallery Choir. †3. An attribute specially or intrinsically belonging to something; an essential characteristic, property, or quality. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a characteristic privilegec1225 distinctionc1374 propertyc1390 tachea1400 pointa1425 specialty?a1425 difference?c1425 conditionc1460 markc1522 touch1528 specialty1532 differentia1551 character?1569 formality1570 particularity1585 peculiar1589 accent1591 appropriation1600 characterism1603 peculiarity1606 resemblance1622 propera1626 speciality1625 specificationa1631 appropriament1633 characteristic1646 discrimination1646 diagnostic1651 characteristical1660 stroke1666 talent1670 physiognomya1680 oddity1713 distinctive1816 spécialité1836 trait1864 flavour1866 middle name1905 discriminant1920 discriminator1943 the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] pitheOE i-cundeeOE roota1325 substancec1330 juicec1380 marrowa1382 formc1385 acta1398 quidditya1398 substantial forma1398 inward1398 savourc1400 inwardc1450 allaya1456 essencya1475 being1521 bottom1531 spirit?1534 summary1548 ecceity1549 core1556 flower1568 formality1570 sum and substance1572 alloy1594 soul1598 inwardness1605 quid1606 fibre1607 selfness1611 whatness1611 essentialityc1616 propera1626 the whole shot1628 substantiala1631 esse1642 entity1643 virtuality1646 ingeny1647 quoddity1647 intimacy1648 ens1649 inbeing1661 essence1667 interiority1701 intrinsic1716 stamen1758 character1761 quidditas1782 hyparxis1792 rasa1800 bone1829 what1861 isness1865 inscape1868 as-suchness1909 Wesen1959 a1626 L. Andrewes 96 Serm. (1629) 9 That is not the proper of this day. a1626 L. Andrewes 96 Serm. (1629) 645 That is Christ's proper. 1654 Z. Coke Art of Logick 67 Every proper floweth from the Essential beginnings of his subject. 1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica 41 Propers either flow immediately from the Essence of the Subject;..Or, by the Mediation of some other Property. 4. slang (originally and chiefly in African-American usage). In plural. Chiefly with possessive adjective. Due respect, acknowledgement, or esteem; = props n. ΚΠ 1967 A. Franklin Respect (transcribed from song) I'm out to give you all of my money, And all I'm askin' in return, Honey, Is to give me my propers when you get home. 1971 Chicago Daily Defender 7 Jan. 14/3 A level of existence which affords each black man his propers—dignity, pride,..and the ability to govern his destiny. 1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 4 Dec. b15/1 The least they could have done was give me my propers. 1993 Essence (Electronic ed.) July 50 Now she's finally starting to get her propers. 2002 Echoes May 55/1 His approach to both his instrument and composition is anything but predictable and for that alone he deserves a bag full of propers. C. adv. †1. Suitably, appropriately. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > [adverb] wellOE tidily1340 avenantlya1375 covenablyc1384 featlya1400 propera1400 queema1400 congruelyc1400 conably1411 cordingc1420 convenablyc1430 competentlyc1440 fitc1440 accordantlyc1443 accordinglyc1443 conveniently1447 at pointc1485 congruentlya1529 appliablyc1530 afferandly1536 suitingly1540 aptly1548 answerably1549 fitlyc1550 agreeingly1563 suitable1584 not unfitly1586 aptitudinallyc1600 handsome1600 sortfully1606 sortably1607 congruouslya1620 accommodately1623 adaptlya1648 inabusivelya1677 suitably1681 agreeably1753 appropriately1795 suitly1913 righteous1948 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 24934 (MED) Bot now men vsis on oþerwise; þer is mare of hir seruise, þat qua wil, mai hit sai propre on hir fest-day. 1590 W. Clever Flower of Phisicke 76 This reason standeth verie proper to manie dispositions. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) 38309 For greit dispyte tha call him ane lurdan The quhilk suld be mair proper ane lord Dene. 1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) i. sig. a3 Ordering each part thereof, proper to its particular use. 1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. viii. 141 The Joysts lie not proper for the second story. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. i. iv. 93 Which is properest done at those seasons when our thoughts are fresh. 2. a. Thoroughly; extremely; correctly. Frequently in good and proper (see good and at good adj. 12c). Now colloquial. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] a great dealc1000 much dealc1225 on highc1400 little1483 good and proper1508 not smally1548 a deal1756 in a big way1840 more than somewhat1930 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly allOE allOE outlyOE thwert-outc1175 skerea1225 thoroughc1225 downrightc1275 purec1300 purelyc1300 faira1325 finelyc1330 quitec1330 quitelyc1330 utterlyc1374 outerlya1382 plainlya1382 straighta1387 allutterly1389 starkc1390 oultrelya1393 plata1393 barec1400 outrightc1400 incomparablyc1422 absolutely?a1425 simpliciter?a1425 staringa1425 quitementa1450 properlyc1450 directly1455 merec1475 incomparable1482 preciselyc1503 clean?1515 cleara1522 plain1535 merely1546 stark1553 perfectly1555 right-down1566 simply1574 flat1577 flatly1577 skire1581 plumb1588 dead?1589 rankly1590 stark1593 sheera1600 start1599 handsmooth1600 peremptory1601 sheerly1601 rank1602 utter1619 point-blank1624 proofa1625 peremptorily1626 downrightly1632 right-down1646 solid1651 clever1664 just1668 hollow1671 entirely1673 blank1677 even down1677 cleverly1696 uncomparatively1702 subtly1733 point1762 cussed1779 regularly1789 unqualifiedly1789 irredeemably1790 positively1800 cussedly1802 heart1812 proper1816 slick1818 blankly1822 bang1828 smack1828 pluperfectly1831 unmitigatedly1832 bodaciously1833 unredeemedly1835 out of sight1839 bodacious1845 regular1846 thoroughly1846 ingrainedly1869 muckinga1880 fucking1893 motherless1898 self1907 stone1928 sideways1956 terminally1974 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. av^v Propir schene schane y^e son. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 901 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 123 He lukit to his lykame..So propir plesand of prent. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. v. 53 As proper brave a man as e'er was laid Under the turf. 1838 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 2nd Ser. v. 75 I am proper glad you agree with me, squire, said he. 1898 A. Conan Doyle Trag. Korosko ix ‘Had 'em that time—had 'em proper!’ said he. 1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo xxx. 284 They got proper wet out there. 1988 M. Gee Grace iv. 49 He will sort her out good and proper later. b. colloquial. Using correct, approved, or refined language, pronunciation, etc. Frequently ironic, the use of proper as an adverb (rather than properly) being considered by many to be incorrect. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > accent > [adverb] > properly proper1915 1915 Dial. Notes 4 188 Talk proper before your teacher. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke ii. 41 Perhaps she'll 'ave another go at teachin' me to speak proper, pore soul. 1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse (title) Lern yerself Scouse. How to talk proper in Liverpool. 1995 Independent 6 Dec. 17/4 If Gillian Shephard, the Education Secretary, hoped her proposal to encourage schoolchildren to talk proper..would be a vote winner, she should have consulted some of her constituents first. Compounds Proper Bostonian n. [after the title of the novel The Proper Bostonians (compare quot. 1947) by Cleveland Amory] a member of upper-class society in Boston, Massachusetts (cf. Brahmin n. 3); frequently attributive. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [adjective] > relating to Bostonians Proper Bostonian1947 society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [noun] > member of > Bostonian Proper Bostonian1947 1947 C. Amory Proper Bostonians i. 12 Outside observers have claimed to be able to tell the Proper Bostonian male by waistcoat, and the Proper Bostonian female by hat. 1969 A. Laski Dominant Fifth v. 180 Daughter of a not particularly wealthy and certainly not Proper Bostonian American. 1977 J. Cleary High Road to China vii. 231 She was only a mild rebel: there was still too much of the Proper Bostonian in her. 2005 Financial Planning (Nexis) 1 June I was a rich kid, but I was also a WASP and a Proper Bostonian. proper fraction n. Mathematics a fraction whose magnitude is less than one, the numerator being lower in magnitude than the denominator. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > fraction > [noun] > numerator or denominator relationships improper fraction1552 proper fractiona1630 infinitesimal1706 complex fraction1827 a1630 H. Briggs Logarithm. Arithm. (1631) 2 The Log. of proper fractions is Defective. 1766 J. Mair Arithm., Rational & Pract. I. ix. 240 If any number be divided by a proper fraction, the quot [sc. quotient] will be greater than the dividend. 1854 Proc. Royal Soc. 7 377 Up to certain limiting values of α the fraction is a proper fraction. 1991 Personal Computer World Feb. 226/1 Given a proper fraction P/Q..express it as a sum of unit fractions. proper law n. Law †(a) the law or system of laws which operates in specific circumstances, in a particular country, etc. (obsolete); (b) the particular law taken to obtain in, or be appropriate to the consideration of, a specific case or transaction. ΘΚΠ society > law > [noun] > a law > other general types of law judicialc1400 proper law1609 antinomy1644 cobweb law1649 post-law1663 overlaw1883 inn law1930 loi-cadre1953 1609 R. Parsons Quiet Reckoning viii. 579 As this is no proper law of England..but common to all or most Nations: and therefore no maruayle though it were in vse also among the English before the Conquest. 1726 A. Bayne Disc. on Rise & Progress Law of Scotl. in T. Hope Minor Practicks 166 Altho' we have thus collected and adopted a proper Law of our own, which is partly written, partly consuetudinary; yet..some Questions will often occur which by no Rule in our Law can well be decided. 1850 W. H. Foote Sketches of Virginia 212 If the Act of Toleration be..adopted, and wrought into your constitution and made a proper law of your colony, [etc.]. 1938 N. Mackenzie & L. H. Laing Canada & Law of Nations f. i. 426 That contractual stipulations as to the measure of damages embodied in the agreement itself are governed as to validity and effect by the proper law of the contract, seems to follow as a corollary from the principle that the cause of action rests upon the rights given by that law. 2005 Times (Nexis) 21 June 60 Lord Justice Longmore said that the proper law of the contract of carriage was English law, since the parties had so agreed. proper name n. [compare Old French propri nom (1155; Middle French, French nom propre)] a name, consisting of a proper noun or noun phrase including a proper noun, that designates an individual person, place, organization, tame animal, ship, etc., and is usually written with an initial capital letter. A proper name may receive a connotation from the qualities of a person or thing named, and thus may be used as a common noun, as a Hercules, a Calvary, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > proper noun proper namec1300 proper noun?a1500 c1300Propre name [see sense A. 3a]. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 159 (MED) Þo his propre name was i-chaunged, as it happeþ in confirmacioun of children. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 6 Adam, propyr name, Adam. 1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xvii. 109 As for their place, the great letters ar to begin full sentences, as. The kingdom of heauen is redie for the repentant. And proper names, as. The cursed Cain killed the good Abell. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. iii. 190 If we had Reason to mention particular Horses, as often as..particular Men, we should have proper Names for the one, as familiar as for the other; and Bucephalus would be a Word as much in use, as Alexander. 1720 D. Waterland 8 Serm. Divinity of Christ 117 Supposing Jehovah to be meerly a proper name. 1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. i. v. §2 Proper names have strictly no meaning: they are mere marks for individual objects. 1917 E. Wharton Summer i. 17 ‘I saw you going into her house just now, didn't I?’ she asked, with the New England avoidance of the proper name. 2006 Times Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) (Nexis) 22 Feb. c8 Confidentiality is guaranteed; proper names, company identity and distinguishing points of reference are changed to protect anonymity. proper noun n. Grammar a noun that designates an individual person, place, organization, animal, ship, etc., and is usually written with an initial capital letter; cf. proper name n. and common noun n. at common adj. and adv. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > proper noun proper namec1300 proper noun?a1500 ?a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) II. 14 (MED) Thynk of propur nownnys, Both of kastels and of townnys. 1694 A. Boyer Compl. French-master ii. 9 A Proper Noun is the particular Name of any single thing. 1791 H. Dimock Notes on Bk. of Psalms 323 A proper noun is supplied to the plural verbs and affixes. 1898 A. B. Davidson et al. Dict. of Bible 36 Adam naturally fluctuates between a common and proper noun. 1992 Eng. Today Apr. 35/1 Paralleling this we note other Arabic proper nouns borrowed into English: Hezbollah (‘Party of God’). † proper-parted adj. Obsolete having all requisite qualities, accomplishments, etc.; admirably or excellently talented or accomplished; cf. part n.¹ 15. ΚΠ 1608 T. Middleton Your Fiue Gallants sig. E2 'Tis pitty such a proper-parted gentleman should want. Proper Preface n. Christian Church any of various special formulas interpolated in the ordinary preface on major feast days. ΚΠ 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxvi^v Here shall folowe the proper preface. 1735 Addr. to Conforming Arians 24 The proper Preface upon the Feast of the Trinity. 1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 353 The Ordinary Preface, to be said daily, except in Feasts and their Octaves having Proper Prefaces. 2000 K. B. Westerfield Tucker Amer. Methodist Worship 137 Common Preface [with option of adding a Proper Preface for Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost]. † proper prime n. Mathematics Obsolete a prime number having the property that, when it is the denominator of a vulgar fraction, the recurring period of the equivalent decimal fraction consists of the highest possible number of figures, i.e. one less than the prime number itself. ΚΠ 1864 W. H. H. Hudson in Messenger of Math. II. 1 If the period of d consist of d − 1 places, d is called a proper prime. proper time n. [after German Eigenzeit (H. Minkowski 1908, in Nachrichten von der Königlichen Ges. der Wissensch. zu Göttingen: Math.-Physikalische Klasse 103)] Physics and Mathematics the time interval between two events in space–time as measured by a (hypothetical) clock travelling between the two events; time as measured by an observer's own clock. ΚΠ 1911 W. de Sitter in Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 71 392 The variable τ is called by Minkowski the ‘Eigenzeit’ of the point.., which may be translated by ‘proper-time’. 1942 P. G. Berman Introd. Theory Relativity iv. 41 Whenever the two events can be just connected by a light ray which leaves the site of one event at the time it occurs and arrives at the site of the other event as it takes place, the proper time interval τ₁₂ between them vanishes. 1990 I. R. Kenyon Gen. Relativity (BNC) 108 The proper time τ as recorded by an on-board clock would change smoothly on crossing the [event] horizon. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † properv. Forms: Middle English proper, Middle English propir, Middle English propri, Middle English–1500s propre, 1500s propryed (past participle). Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably formed within English, by conversion. Probably partly formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: proper adj.; appropre v. Etymology: Probably partly < proper adj., and partly shortened < appropre v. (compare also the foreign-language parallels cited at that entry). Compare classical Latin propriāre to make one's own (recorded in a 2nd-cent. epitome of a 1st-cent. grammarian), Anglo-Norman propriere to appropriate (14th cent., in an apparently isolated attestation; compare proprié, past participle, in an apparently isolated attestation).The alleged sense ‘to make proper, to adorn’, cited in Cent. Dict., is due to a misreading of Halliwell: see quot. 1847 at proper adj. 7b. In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix). Obsolete. 1. transitive. To apply or ascribe specially or exclusively; (in passive) to be appropriate for, characteristic of, or proper to a person or thing. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > inhere in or be an attribute of [verb (transitive)] > attribute to as belonging or appropriate appropre1340 propera1398 appropriate1533 attributea1538 give1559 the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > apply or restrict specifically to something [verb (transitive)] propera1398 particularize1588 specificate1631 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 78 Þe liknes þat we seeþ in sweuenes we..propriþ [L. appropriamus] to ham þe þinges & names of þinges for liknes of þe þinges. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 245^v Rubutum or rubus is a name y-propred [1582 propryed] to a sshurbbe þat bereþ wilde breres. c1425 (c1400) Prymer (Cambr.) (1895) 78 God, to whom it is proprid to haue merci. a1500 (a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 353 (MED) To þe godhed in hijs fadure is propred þis power. 1560 E. Gosynhyll Scole House of Women (new ed.) sig. Ci^v It is lyke propryed [1541 appropryed], all women to bable As dogges to barke, and geese to gagle. 2. transitive. To appropriate, make one's own, take possession of. With to oneself. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > take possession of [verb (transitive)] > appropriate ownOE rimec1275 takec1300 appropre1366 to keep, take to or for one's own storec1385 to get awayc1480 proper1496 apprehenda1522 impropry1526 impropriate1567 carve1578 forestall1581 appropriate1583 propriate1587 pocket1597 impatronize1611 propertya1616 asself1632 appropriatea1634 swallow1637 to swallow up1654 sink1699 poucha1774 spheterize1779 sack1807 fob1818 to look back to1822 mop1861 annex1865 1496 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (de Worde) vii. v. 281/2 They propren to themselfe by couetyse that is comon by kynde. a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 427 (MED) Many goodis han comun bifore of siche studies, but neuere so myche siþen collegies weren dowid as dide bifore þer rentis weren proprid. 3. transitive. Probably: to make master of something. ΚΠ 1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) ii. xvii. sig. n.iii ^v The persone contemplatyfe the whiche by the grace of god is trewely propred of all his desyres and pleasures vayne and wordly. Derivatives † propering n. Obsolete appropriation. ΚΠ a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 421 Men..þat assenten to siche propring of chirchis bisyde cristis leeue. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.n.adv.?c1225v.a1398
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properadj.n.adv.

Compounds

† properv.

Derivatives