proper
/ˈprɒpə
/adjective
1 [attributive] chiefly British Denoting something that is truly what it is said or regarded to be; genuine: she’s never had a proper job a proper meal...
- No doubt, hawking is not often regarded as a proper job, but in reality, it involves minimum investment with maximum returns.
- Surely there can be no genuine democracy without proper self-determination free from the narrow minded preferences of an aggressor state.
- So, of course, we had real jobs with proper tax codes, an optional pensions scheme, sickness cover and employee rights.
Synonyms
real, genuine, actual, true, bona fide
informal kosher
1.1 [postpositive] Strictly so called; in its true form: after this event, three countries will progress to the World Cup proper...
- They're not going to be taxed on hotel rooms if they can prove that they were living in New Orleans proper and that they're actual evacuees.
- Warrenpoint now proceed to the first round proper where they will meet Irvinestown from Fermanagh back in Clontiberet in a fortnight's time.
- It seems like there's a strip of stores and businesses three miles long, from the Michigan border into Iron Mountain proper.
1.2 informal Used as an intensifier, especially in derogatory contexts: a proper little do-gooder, aren’t I?...
- She's a proper little child, getting into mischief.
- In short, I was a proper little Cultural Revolutionary in the making.
- Part of me wanted to tell her that Lydia had happily left home to be with Matty and was looking forward to their marriage and becoming a proper little housewife.
Synonyms
complete, absolute, real, perfect, total, thorough, thoroughgoing, utter, out-and-out, positive, unmitigated, consummate
British informal right
Australian/New Zealand informal fair
archaic arrant
2 [attributive] Of the required or correct type or form; suitable or appropriate: an artist needs the proper tools they had not followed the proper procedures...
- Often when dealing with parts of the engine, or the hard-to-reach spots under the hood, proper tools are required.
- This procedure is often time-consuming, tedious to perform and requires proper facilities.
- Its proper use requires moral reflection and the establishment of moral limits.
Synonyms
right, correct, accepted, orthodox, conventional, established, official, formal, regular, acceptable;
appropriate, suitable, fitting, apt, due;
French de règle
archaic meet
2.1According to or respecting social standards or conventions; respectable, especially excessively so: her parents' view of what was proper for a well-bred girl a very prim and proper Swiss lady...
- She'd learned to ride sidesaddle, as was proper for a young lady.
- But no, neither was proper for a young lady of noble blood, a princess especially.
- It's not exactly proper for ladies to get involved in such things.
Synonyms
respectable, decorous, seemly, decent, refined, ladylike, gentlemanly, genteel;
formal, conventional, correct, orthodox, polite, punctilious, sedate, modest, demure, virtuous;
becoming, befitting, fit, done;
French comme il faut
3 (proper to) Belonging or relating exclusively or distinctively to; particular to: the two elephant types proper to Africa and to southern Asia...
- On the other hand, it has the distinction proper to students who know to respect themselves and the things of the spirit to which they dedicate themselves.
Synonyms
belonging, relating, pertaining, related, relevant, unique, peculiar;
associated with
3.1(Of a psalm, lesson, prayer, etc.) appointed for a particular day, occasion, or season.
3.2 archaic Belonging to oneself or itself; own: to judge with my proper eyes
4 [usually postpositive] Heraldry In the natural colours.
5 archaic or dialect (Of a person) good-looking: he is a proper youth!
6 Mathematics Denoting a subset or subgroup that does not constitute the entire set or group, especially one that has more than one element.The second is that all mathematical proofs can be recast as logical proofs or, in other words, that the theorems of mathematics constitute a proper subset of those of logic....
- An odd perfect number is defined to be an odd integer that is equal to the sum of its proper divisors.
- Amicable numbers come in pairs in which each number is the sum of the proper divisors of the other.
adverb British informal or dialect
1Satisfactorily or correctly: my eyes were all blurry and I couldn’t see proper...
- If we all talked proper they wouldn't have to make us sound so awful.
1.1Thoroughly: he blotted his copybook good and proper
noun
The part of a church service that varies with the season or feast: we go to the High Mass, with plainsong propers sung by the Ritual Choir...
- Did every parish congregation need the propers for the Blessing of an Abbot?
- That book has 1,293 pages, including such useful things as the propers for the Blessing of an Abbot.
- Nevertheless, even within the settings of the propers and hours, one keeps coming across exquisitely beautiful moments.
Derivatives
properness
- It's tacky and seedy, but it's got these pretensions to properness - seaside landladies and all that stuff.
- And as your husband, I will expect respect, decorum, and properness a woman is supposed to display.
- The woman across the table was just as fearful, but kept herself under a mask-a mask of civilization hiding wild eyes, properness hiding tensed muscles, ready to spring.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French propre, from Latin proprius 'one's own, special'.
Rhymes
- semiotician
- semiotics
- Semipalatinsk
- semipalmated
- semi-Pelagian
- semi-Pelagianism
- semi-permanent
- semi-permanently
- semipermeable
- semi-precious
- semiprivate
- semi-pro
- semi-professional
- semi-prone position
- semiquaver
- semiquinone
- Semiramis
- semi-retired
- semi-retirement
- semi-rigid
- semi-skilled
- semi-skimmed
- semi-solid
- semispecies
- semi-submersible