proper
proper Lexical Profile
proper Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Suitable, appropriate, or correct according to established social standards, rules, or customs.
"Please ensure that all laboratory equipment is stored in the proper place after the experiment."
British Genuine, real, or of a satisfactorily high standard.
"After days of eating light snacks on the trail, the hikers were eager for a proper hot meal."
Respectable, decorous, or conforming strictly to polite social behavior and moral convention.
"Her grandparents held very proper views regarding table manners and formal dress."
Strictly limited to the main or central part of something, as distinct from surrounding areas or preliminary stages (usually placed after the noun).
"They live in a quiet suburb just outside the boundaries of Boston proper."
Designating a specific individual person, place, or organization, and typically spelled with an initial capital letter in grammar.
"In English grammar, names of countries and months are classified as proper nouns."
• adverb
British Thoroughly, completely, or exceedingly (used informally or dialectally).
"We got proper lost trying to navigate the winding country lanes without a map."
• noun
The parts of a Christian liturgical service that vary according to the specific date, season, or feast day of the ecclesiastical calendar.
"The choir rehearsed the choral settings for the proper of the Easter Sunday Mass."
Word Nuance & Usage
When placed immediately after a noun (e.g., 'the city proper'), 'proper' means strictly defined or in the strictest sense, whereas before a noun it typically means appropriate, respectable, or genuine.
• Rhymes for proper
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Middle English, from Old French propre, from Latin proprius meaning 'one's own, special, or particular'.