proper

Etymology

From Middle English propre, from Anglo-Norman proper, propre, Old French propre (French: propre), from Latin proprius.

adj

1. Suitable.
   1. Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.
      the proper time to plant potatoes
      One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination. 2014-06-14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891
   2. Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous.
      a very proper young lady
      The Nippy became a national icon, symbolic of the girl next door, always approachable and proper; […] 2014, Paul Chrystal, Tea: A Very British Beverage
2. Possessed, related.
   1. (grammar) Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are usually written with an initial capital letter.
   2. Pertaining exclusively to a specific thing or person; particular.
      They have a proper saint almost for every peculiar infirmity: for poison, gouts, agues […]. , II.1.3
      1829, James Marsh, Preliminary Essay to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Aids to Reflection those higher and peculiar attributes […] which constitute our proper humanity
   3. (usually postpositive) In the strict sense; within the strict definition or core (of a specified place, taxonomic order, idea, etc).
      These are divided into two great families, the vipers proper (Viperidae) and the pit-vipers (Crotalidae). 1893, Annual of the Universal Medical Sciences
      Siberia, though it stands outside the territorial confines of Russia proper, constitutes an essentially component part […]. Outer Mongolia, [so called] to distinguish it from Inner Mongolia, which lies nearer to China proper, revolted and declared its independence. 1976, Eu-Yang Kwang, The political reconstruction of China, page 165
      Hence, this border is still blurred, raising the question whether traumatic life events induce sadness/distress – which is self-evident – or depression proper and, secondly, whether sadness/distress is a precursor or pacemaker of depression. 2004, Stress, the Brain and Depression, page 24
   4. Belonging to oneself or itself; own.
      proper motion — proper left — proper right
      Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, / Betwixt true valour and an empty boast. 1717, John Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta
      every country, and more than that, every private place, hath his proper remedies growing in it, particular almost to the domineering and most frequent maladies of it. , II.4.1.ii
      Each animal has its proper pleasure, and the proper pleasure of man is connected with reason. 1946, Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, I.20
   5. (heraldry) Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures.
   6. (mathematics) Being strictly part of some other thing (not necessarily explicitly mentioned, but of definitional importance), and not being the thing itself.
      proper subset — proper ideal
   7. (mathematics, physics) Eigen-; designating a function or value which is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue.
3. Accurate, strictly applied.
   1. Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.)
      Now that was a proper breakfast.
   2. (now regional) Attractive, elegant.
   3. (often postpositive) In the very strictest sense of the word.
   4. (now colloquial) Utter, complete.
      When I realized I was wearing my shirt inside out, I felt a proper fool.

adv

1. (UK, colloquial) properly; thoroughly; completely.
   'I thought it was the American Associated Press.' 'Oh, they are on the track, are they?' 'They to-day, and the Times yesterday. Oh, they are buzzing round proper.' 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
   “Christmas Eve,” said Nabby Adams. “I used to pump the bloody organ for the carols, proper pissed usually.” 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 202
   The kid towelled him up proper. 1957, Ray Lawler, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Sydney: Fontana Books, published 1974, page 32
   Don't you think you must have looked proper daft? 1964, Saint Andrew Society (Glasgow, Scotland), The Scots magazine: Volume 82
2. (nonstandard, colloquial) properly.
   "But it's not many of us as can make 'em proper." 1988, Mary Steele, Mallyroot's Pub at Misery Ponds, Ringwood: Puffin Books, page 68
   When I meet a bad chick, know I gotta tell her hello talk real proper, but she straight up out the ghetto 2012, Latta, Soufside, Hello (song)

noun

1. (obsolete) Something set apart for a special use.
2. (Christianity) A part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date.