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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Proper \Prop"er\, adverb Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good. [Colloq & Vulgar]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Proper \Prop"er\, adjective [OE. propre, F. propre, fr. L. proprius. Cf. {Appropriate}.]
1. Belonging to one; one's own; individual. ''His proper good'' [i. e., his own possessions]. --Chaucer. ''My proper son.'' --Shak.
Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, Betwixt true valor and an empty boast. --Dryden.
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. --Coleridge.
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. --Pope.
In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play, All proper to the spring, and sprightly May. --Dryden.
4. 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. 23.
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. (Her.) Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.
{In proper}, individually; privately. [Obs.] --Jer. Taylor.
{Proper flower} or {Proper 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 {common noun}; as, John, Boston, America.
{Proper perianth} or {Proper involucre} (Bot.), that which incloses only a single flower.
{Proper receptacle} (Bot.), a receptacle which supports only a single flower or fructification.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
proper
adjective
1: marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness; "proper medical treatment"; "proper manners" [ant: {improper}]
2: limited to the thing specified; "the city proper"; "his claim is connected with the deed proper" [syn: {proper(ip)}]
3: appropriate for a condition or occasion; "everything in its proper place"; "the right man for the job"; "she is not suitable for the position" [syn: {right}, {suitable}]
4: having all the qualities typical of the thing specified; "wanted a proper dinner; not just a snack"; "he finally has a proper job" [syn: {proper(a)}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
274 Moby Thesaurus words for "proper": Christian, OK, absolute, accepted, accommodated to, according to, according to Hoyle, accurate, acknowledged, adapted, adapted to, adjusted to, admitted, advantageous, advisable, after, agreeable to, agreeably to, all right, alone, answerable to, applicable, apposite, appropriate, approved, apropos, apt, arrant, au fait, authentic, authoritative, balanced, banausic, becoming, befitting, being done, beneficial, blamed, by, canonical, capable, characteristic, civil, classical, comely, comme il faut, commodious, competent, complete, condign, conformable, conformable to, conforming, conformist, confounded, congruent with, congruous, consistent with, consummate, convenient, conventional, correct, crashing, crass, customary, de rigueur, dead right, decent, decided, decorous, defensible, definitive, delicate, deserved, desirable, desired, diagnostic, dignified, distinct, distinctive, distinguished, downright, due, egregious, elegant, employable, equitable, established, evangelical, even, evenhanded, exact, expected, expedient, fair, fair and square, faithful, faultless, favorable, feasible, felicitous, firm, fit, fitten, fitting, flagrant, flawless, formal, fructuous, functional, genteel, gentlemanly, glaring, good, good for, gross, happy, helpful, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, in accordance with, in agreement with, in character, in compliance with, in conformity with, in correspondence to, in harmony with, in keeping with, in line with, in lock-step with, in obedience to, in step with, in uniformity with, individual, infernal, inspired, intolerable, intrinsic, just, just right, justifiable, justified, kosher, ladylike, lawful, legal, letter-perfect, level, likely, literal, marked, meet, meet and right, merited, meticulous, modest, nice, normal, normative, of general utility, of help, of service, of the faith, of use, okay, only, opportune, orthodox, orthodoxical, out-and-out, outright, own, particular, peculiar, per, perfect, polite, politic, positive, practical, pragmatical, precious, precise, prig, priggish, prissy, profitable, profound, pronounced, proper to, prudish, punctilious, puritanical, qualified, quintessential, rank, received, recognized, recommendable, refined, regular, respectable, respective, right, right and proper, righteous, rightful, rigorous, satisfactory, scriptural, seasonable, seemly, sensible, separate, serviceable, shattering, shocking, single, singular, solely, sortable, sound, special, specific, square, standard, stark, stark-staring, straight, straight-up-and-down, straitlaced, strictly speaking, stuffy, suitable, suitable for, suited, superlative, surpassing, textual, the veriest, thorough, thoroughgoing, timely, to be desired, total, traditional, traditionalistic, true, true to form, true-blue, unbearable, unconscionable, undeniable, unequivocal, uniform with, unique, unmitigated, unqualified, unrelieved, unspoiled, urbane, useful, usual, utilitarian, utter, warrantable, warranted, well-chosen, well-expressed, well-put, well-timed, wicked, wise, worthwhile
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