different between fine vs proper
fine
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin f?n?re (“to finish”) and/or f?nis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of "fine" or "thin" also arising in many Romance languages (compare Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian fino). Doublet of fino.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fa?n/,
- Rhymes: -a?n
- (Tasmanian) IPA(key): /fæ?n/
Adjective
fine (comparative finer, superlative finest)
- Senses referring to subjective quality.
- Of superior quality.
- "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."
- Synonyms: good, excellent
- (informal) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory.
- Synonyms: all right, ok, o.k., okay, hunky-dory, kosher
- (informal) Good-looking, attractive.
- Subtle, delicately balanced or discriminated.
- (obsolete) Showy; overdecorated.
- 1853, Matthew Arnold, Preface to The Poems of Matthew Arnold
- They will permit the poet to select any action he pleases, and to suffer that action to go as it will, provided he gratifies them with occasional bursts of fine writing
- 1853, Matthew Arnold, Preface to The Poems of Matthew Arnold
- Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
- c. 1692, John Dryden, Discourse on Satire
- The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.
- 1728, John Gay, The Beggar's Opera
- He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.
- c. 1692, John Dryden, Discourse on Satire
- An answer often used to cover an unnecessary explanation, rather to avoid conflict or an argument. Saying "I'm fine" can be used to avoid inquiry when the speaker is not really okay.
- Of superior quality.
- Senses referring to objective quality.
- Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good and very fine, and below mint.
- (of weather) Sunny and not raining.
- Consisting of especially minute particulate; made up of particularly small pieces.
- Synonyms: fine-grained, powdered, powdery, pulverised, pulverized, small-grained
- Antonym: coarse
- Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.
- Made of slender or thin filaments.
- Synonym: fine-threaded
- Antonym: coarse
- Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.
- Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good and very fine, and below mint.
- (cricket) Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
- (obsolete) Subtle; thin; tenuous.
Derived terms
See below.
Translations
Adverb
fine (comparative more fine, superlative most fine)
- Expression of (typically) reluctant agreement.
- Synonyms: all right, alright, OK, very well
- Well, nicely, in a positive way.
- Everything worked out fine.
- (dated, dialect, colloquial) Finely; elegantly; delicately.
- (pool, billiards) In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be barely deflected, the object ball being driven to one side.
Translations
Noun
fine (plural fines)
- Fine champagne; French brandy.
- 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Scribner 2003, page 14:
- We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going.
- 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber 2007, page 18:
- He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said.
- 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Scribner 2003, page 14:
- (usually in the plural) Something that is fine; fine particles.
- They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.
Usage notes
Particularly used in plural as fines of ground coffee beans in espresso making.
See also
- filing
Verb
fine (third-person singular simple present fines, present participle fining, simple past and past participle fined)
- (transitive) To make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
- to fine gold
- 1666 (written), 1681 (published), Thomas Hobbes, A Dialogue between a Philosopher and a Student of the Common Laws of England
- It hath been fined and refined by […] learned men.
- (intransitive) To become finer, purer, or cleaner.
- To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
- to fine the soil
- (Can we find and add a quotation of L. H. Bailey to this entry?)
- To change by fine gradations.
- to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
- I often sate at home / On evenings, watching how they fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
- (transitive) To clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
- (intransitive, dated) To become gradually fine; to diminish; to dwindle (with away, down, or off).
- 1882, William Clark Russell, My Watch Below
- I watched her [the ship] […] gradually fining down in the westward until I lost sight of her hull.
- 1882, William Clark Russell, My Watch Below
Synonyms
- (to make or become finer, purer, or cleaner): clarify, refine, purify
Related terms
- (clarify by filtration): finings
Translations
Derived terms
Related terms
- final
- finite
Etymology 2
From Middle English fyn, fyne, from Old French fin, from Medieval Latin finis (“a payment in settlement or tax”). Doublet of finis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fa?n/,
Noun
fine (plural fines)
- A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
- The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.
Synonyms
- amercement
Translations
Verb
fine (third-person singular simple present fines, present participle fining, simple past and past participle fined)
- (transitive) To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
- (intransitive) To pay a fine.
- 1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages
- Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry.
- 1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages
Synonyms
- amerce
Translations
Related terms
- finance
Etymology 3
From Italian fine (“end”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: f?'n?, IPA(key): /?fi?ne?/
Noun
fine (plural fines)
- (music) The end of a musical composition.
- (music) The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.
Usage notes
This word is virtually never used in speech and therefore essentially confined to musical notation.
Derived terms
- da capo al fine=D.C. al fine
Etymology 4
From Middle English finen, fynen, from Old French finer, finir. See finish (transitive verb).
Verb
fine (third-person singular simple present fines, present participle fining, simple past and past participle fined)
- (obsolete, intransitive) To finish; to cease.
- (obsolete, transitive) To cause to cease; to stop.
Noun
fine (plural fines)
- (obsolete) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
- A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Spelman to this entry?)
- (Britain, law) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
References
- “fine”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
Anagrams
- Enif, Fein, NiFe, feni, ifen, neif, nief, nife
Asturian
Verb
fine
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive of finar
Danish
Adjective
fine
- plural and definite singular attributive of fin
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?fine/
- Hyphenation: fi?ne
- Rhymes: -ine
- Audio:
Adverb
fine
- finally, at last; at the end
- in the final analysis, when all's said and done
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fin/
- Rhymes: -in
Adjective
fine
- feminine singular of fin
Noun
fine f (plural fines)
- (typography) thin space, non-breakable space
- a number of high grade French brandies (usually AOC certified)
Further reading
- “fine” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Futuna-Aniwa
Noun
fine
- woman, female (of any sort)
References
- Arthur Capell, Futuna-Aniwa Dictionary, with Grammatical Introduction (1984)
Ido
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?fine/
Adverb
fine
- finally
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish fine, from Proto-Celtic *weny? (“family”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh?- (“desire”); compare Old English wine (“friend”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?f??n??/
Noun
fine f (genitive singular fine, nominative plural finte)
- family group
- race
- territory of a family group
Declension
Derived terms
- Fine Gael
Mutation
Further reading
- "fine" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
- Entries containing “fine” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
- Entries containing “fine” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
Italian
Etymology
From Latin f?nis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?fi.ne/
- Hyphenation: fì?ne
Adjective
fine (plural fini)
- thin
- Synonym: sottile
- fine
- refined
- Synonym: elegante
Derived terms
- finemente
Adjective
fine
- feminine plural of fino
Noun
fine f (plural fini)
- end
- Synonyms: conclusione, finale, termine
- Antonyms: inizio, principio
Noun
fine m (plural fini)
- aim, purpose, end
- Synonyms: scopo, obiettivo
Related terms
Anagrams
- feni
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /?fi?.ne/, [?fi?n?]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /?fi.ne/, [?fi?n?]
Noun
f?ne
- ablative singular of f?nis
References
- fine in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Manx
Etymology
From Old Irish faigen (“sheath, scabbard”), from Latin v?g?na. Cognate with Irish faighin and Scottish Gaelic faighean.
Noun
fine m (genitive singular fine, plural fineyn)
- quiver
- sheath, scabbard
- Synonym: laan
- (anatomy) vagina
- Synonyms: pihtt, pitt
Synonyms
- cuinnag
Mutation
North Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian finda, which derives from Proto-West Germanic *finþan. Cognates include Föhr-Amrum North Frisian finj and West Frisian fine.
Verb
fine
- (Mooring Dialect) to find
Conjugation
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
fine
- definite singular of fin
- plural of fin
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
fine
- definite singular of fin
- plural of fin
Old Irish
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *weny?.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?f?in?e/
Noun
fine f
- family, kin, group of people of common descent
- clan, tribe, race
Inflection
Descendants
- Irish: fine
Mutation
Further reading
- Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fine”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: fi?ne
Verb
fine
- first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of finar
- third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of finar
- third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of finar
- third-person singular (você) negative imperative of finar
Romanian
Etymology
From Italian fine, and partly French fin.
Noun
fine f (uncountable)
- (literary) end
- Synonym: sfâr?it
Derived terms
- în fine
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?fine/, [?fi.ne]
Verb
fine
- Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of finir.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of finir.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of finir.
Swedish
Adjective
fine
- absolute definite natural masculine form of fin.
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian finda, from Proto-West Germanic *finþan.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?fin?/
Verb
fine
- to find
- to decide that, to form the opinion that
Inflection
Further reading
- “fine (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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proper
English
Alternative forms
- propre (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English propre, from Anglo-Norman proper, propre, Old French propre (French: propre), from Latin proprius.
Pronunciation
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /?p??p.?/
- (UK) IPA(key): /?p??p.?(?)/
- (US) enPR: präp??r, IPA(key): /?p??.p?/
- Rhymes: -?p?(?)
- Hyphenation: prop?er
Adjective
proper (comparative more proper, superlative most proper)
- (heading) Suitable.
- Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable. [13th c.]
- Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous. [18th c.]
- This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. […] Indeed, all his features were in large mold, like the man himself, as though he had come from a day when skin garments made the proper garb of men.
- Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable. [13th c.]
- (heading) Possessed, related.
- (grammar) Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are usually written with an initial capital letter. [14th c.]
- Pertaining exclusively to a specific thing or person; particular. [14th c.]
- , II.1.3:
- They have a proper saint almost for every peculiar infirmity: for poison, gouts, agues […].
- 1829, James Marsh, Preliminary Essay to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Aids to Reflection
- those higher and peculiar attributes […] which constitute our proper humanity
- , II.1.3:
- (usually postpositive) In the strict sense; within the strict definition or core (of a specified place, taxonomic order, idea, etc).
- 1893, Annual of the Universal Medical Sciences:
- These are divided into two great families, the vipers proper (Viperidae) and the pit-vipers (Crotalidae).
- 1976, Eu-Yang Kwang, The political reconstruction of China, page 165:
- 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.
- 2004, Stress, the Brain and Depression, page 24:
- 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.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:proper.
- 1893, Annual of the Universal Medical Sciences:
- (archaic) Belonging to oneself or itself; own. [14th c.]
- 1717, John Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta
- Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, / Betwixt true valour and an empty boast.
- , II.4.1.ii:
- 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.
- 1946, Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, I.20:
- Each animal has its proper pleasure, and the proper pleasure of man is connected with reason.
- 1717, John Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta
- (heraldry) Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures. [16th c.]
- (mathematics) Being strictly part of some other thing (not necessarily explicitly mentioned, but of definitional importance), and not being the thing itself. [20th c.]
- (mathematics, physics) Eigen-; designating a function or value which is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue. [20th c.]
- (heading) Accurate, strictly applied.
- Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.) [14th c.]
- (now regional) Attractive, elegant. [14th c.]
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts 7:
- The same tyme was Moses borne, and was a propper [transl. ??????? (asteîos)] childe in the sight of God, which was norisshed up in his fathers housse thre monethes.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts 7:
- (often postpositive) In the very strictest sense of the word. [14th c.]
- (now colloquial) Utter, complete. [15th c.]
- Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.) [14th c.]
Synonyms
- (fit, suitable): correct, right, apt, prudent, upright, sensible, fitting
- (correct, decorous): appropriate, decent, good, polite, right, well-mannered, upright
- (fitting, right): appropriate, just, honorable
- (complete, thorough): comprehensive, royal, sweeping, intensive
- (strictly, properly-speaking): strictly speaking, properly speaking, par excellence
- (true): full, complete
- (informal: utter): complete, right (informal), total, utter
Antonyms
- (fit, suitable): incorrect, wrong, bad, imprudent, insensible, improper
- (correct, decorous): inappropriate, indecent, bad, impolite, wrong, ill-mannered, unseemly
- (fitting, right): inappropriate, unjust, dishonorable
- (complete, thorough): partial, incomplete, superficial, slapdash
- (true): incomplete
Related terms
- appropriate
- propriety
- properly
Translations
See also
- proper adjective
- proper fraction
- proper noun
Adverb
proper (not comparable)
- (Britain, Australia, colloquial) properly; thoroughly; completely.
- 1964, Saint Andrew Society (Glasgow, Scotland), The Scots magazine: Volume 82
- Don't you think you must have looked proper daft?
- 1964, Saint Andrew Society (Glasgow, Scotland), The Scots magazine: Volume 82
- (nonstandard, colloquial) properly.
- 2012, Soufside, Hello (song)
- When I meet a bad chick, know I gotta tell her hello
- talk real proper, but she straight up out the ghetto
- 2012, Soufside, Hello (song)
Noun
proper (plural propers)
- (obsolete) Something set apart for a special use.
Anagrams
- per pro, propre
Catalan
Etymology
prop +? -er.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic) IPA(key): /p?o?pe/
- (Central) IPA(key): /p?u?pe/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /p?o?pe?/
Adjective
proper (feminine propera, masculine plural propers, feminine plural properes)
- near, close
- Synonym: pròxim
- neighbouring
- next
- Synonym: següent
Synonyms
- (the coming day, week, year etc.): que ve, venint
Related terms
- prop
Further reading
- “proper” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from French propre (“clean, house-trained, own”), from Latin proprius (“own”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pro?b?r/, [?p???o??b??]
Adjective
proper
- cleanly
- tidy
Inflection
Derived terms
- properhed ("cleanliness", "tidiness")
References
- “proper” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?pro?.p?r/
- Hyphenation: pro?per
Etymology
From Middle Dutch proper, from Old French propre, from Latin proprius.
Adjective
proper (comparative properder, superlative properst)
- (chiefly Belgium) clean
Inflection
Synonyms
- netjes, rein, zindelijk.
- (Netherlands) schoon.
German
Etymology
Ultimately from Old French propre, from Latin proprius. Probably borrowed in north-western dialects via Middle Dutch proper [13th c., sense: 15th c.], later generalized under the influence of modern French propre. The colloquial euphemism for “chubby” may, in part, be due to association with Proppen (whence also proppenvoll and Wonneproppen).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?p??p?/
Adjective
proper (comparative properer, superlative am propersten)
- (somewhat informal, dated) in good condition: clean; neat; well-kept; developed
- (colloquial, euphemistic) overweight; chubby
Declension
Further reading
- “proper” in Duden online
Old French
Adjective
proper m (oblique and nominative feminine singular proper)
- (rare) Alternative form of propre
- Or a mai entendez Ki proper volunté amez, Set Pechez 70
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