proper
proper is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 7 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular; as, every animal has his proper instincts and appetites. Those high and peculiar attributes . . . which constitute our proper humanity. Coleridge.
- 2.Befitting one's nature, qualities, etc.; suitable in all respect; appropriate; right; fit; decent; as, water is the proper element for fish; a proper dress. The proper study of mankind is man. Pope. In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play, All proper to the spring, and sprightly May. Dryden.
- 3.Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome. [Archaic] "Thou art a proper man." Chaucer. Moses . . . was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child. Heb. xi.
- 4.5. Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to common; as, a proper name; Dublin is the proper name of a city.
- 5.Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper.
- 6.(Her.) Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge. In proper, individually; privately. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. -- Proper flower or corolla (Bot.), one of the single florets, or corollets, in an aggregate or compound flower. -- Proper fraction (Arith.) a fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator. -- Proper nectary (Bot.), a nectary separate from the petals and other parts of the flower. -- Proper noun (Gram.), a name belonging to an individual, by which it is distinguished from others of the same class; -- opposed to Ant: common noun; as, John, Boston, America. -- Proper perianth or involucre (Bot.), that which incloses only a single flower. -- Proper receptacle (Bot.), a receptacle which supports only a single flower or fructification.
- 7.Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloq & Vulgar]
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- accord
- agnomen
- all
- and
- ant
- antonomasia
- antonym
- autocratic
- baptism
- baptize
- bean
- bid
- by-name
- byword
- call
- cant
- caption
- casual
- characterize
- choice
- christen
- clear
- clepe
- cognomen
- cognominal
- cognomination
- compellation
- conjuncture
- convertible
- crisis
- define
- deliberately
- denominate
- denomination
- description
- designate
- designation
- discretion
- discretional
- discretionary
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is proper.
- What is becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome. [Archaic] "Thou art a proper man." Chaucer. Moses . . . was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child. Heb. xi called?
- What is 5. Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to common; as, a proper name; Dublin is the proper name of a city called?
- What is rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper called?
- What is properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloq & Vulgar] called?
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/proper
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