propers
propers Lexical Profile
propers Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The parts of a Christian liturgical service or Mass that vary according to the specific date, season, or feast day of the ecclesiastical calendar.
"The choir rehearsed the chants for the propers of the Easter Sunday Mass."
American Proper respect, credit, or recognition due to a person (slang, often shortened to 'props').
"She made sure to pay her propers to the pioneers who paved the way for her career."
Word Nuance & Usage
In informal usage meaning 'due respect', 'propers' is the fuller form from which the common slang word 'props' was clipped.
• Rhymes for propers
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived as the plural noun form of the adjective 'proper' (from Latin 'proprius', meaning 'one's own' or 'special'). The liturgical sense translates the Medieval Latin 'propria', while the slang sense meaning 'due respect' emerged in African American Vernacular English in the 1960s and was later shortened to 'props'.