Proper
Proper , adjective
[Old English propre, French propre, from Latin proprius. Compare Appropriate.]
1.
Belonging to one; one's own; individual.
His proper good
My proper son.
Now learn the difference, at your proper cost,
Betwixt true valor and an empty boast.
2.
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.
3.
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.
In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play,
All proper to the spring, and sprightly May.
4.
Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome. [Archaic]
Thou art a proper man.
Moses... was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child.
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.
6.
Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper.
7.
(Heraldry) Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.
Collocations (6)
In proper , individually; privately. [Obsolete] — Jer. Taylor
Proper flower or Proper corolla (Botany) , one of the single florets, or corollets, in an aggregate or compound flower.
Proper fraction (Arithmetic) , a fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator.
Proper nectary or Proper noun (Botany) , a nectary separate from the petals and other parts of the flower. a name belonging to an individual, by which it is distinguished from others of the same class; -- opposed to common noun; as, John, Boston, America.
Proper perianth or Proper involucre (Botany) , that which incloses only a single flower.
Proper receptacle (Botany) , a receptacle which supports only a single flower or fructification.
Proper , adverb
Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloquial & Vulgar]