different between proper vs apropos
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
proper From the web:
- what properties does a conductor have
- what property of this wave is represented by the letter a
- what properties of bone prevent it from breaking
- what properties can michael buy
- what property of light is shown in the picture
- what property of neurons allows them to
- what are the properties of a conductor
apropos
English
Alternative forms
- à propos
- àpropos
Etymology
Borrowed from French à propos (“on that subject”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?æp.???p??/
- (US) IPA(key): /?æp.???po?/
- Rhymes: -??
Adjective
apropos (comparative more apropos, superlative most apropos)
- Of an appropriate or pertinent nature.
- 1877, Jules Verne, translated by Frederick Amadeus Malleson, Journey into the Interior of the Earth, Chapter VI,
- Nothing easier. I received not long ago a map from my friend, Augustus Petermann, at Leipzig. Nothing could be more apropos.
- 1877, Jules Verne, translated by Frederick Amadeus Malleson, Journey into the Interior of the Earth, Chapter VI,
- by the way, incidental
- 1877, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet
- Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. "No doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin," he observed. "Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of breaking in on his friends' thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hour's silence is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine."
- 1877, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet
Synonyms
- (by the way): by the way, incidentally, incidental
Translations
Preposition
apropos
- Regarding or concerning.
- 2011, Jeremy Harding, "Diary", London Review of Books, 33.VII:
- Few have the same root and branch obsession with the recent past or the avenger’s recall (‘the necessity for long memory and sarcasm in argument’, as he wrote apropos the old left intelligentsia in New York).
- 2011, Jeremy Harding, "Diary", London Review of Books, 33.VII:
Synonyms
- about, as for; See also Thesaurus:about
Antonyms
- malapropos
Derived terms
- apropos of
- apropos of nothing
Translations
Adverb
apropos
- By the way.
- Timely; at a good time.
- To the purpose; appropriately.
Translations
Anagrams
- Sapporo
Danish
Alternative forms
- (nonstandard) à propos
Etymology
Borrowed from French à propos.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /apropo/, [ap???op?o], [?p???op?o]
Noun
apropos n (singular definite aproposet or apropos'et, plural indefinite aproposer or apropos'er)
- aside
Inflection
Preposition
apropos
- apropos (regarding or concerning)
Adverb
apropos
- apropos
German
Etymology
Borrowed from French à propos.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ap?o?po?]
Adverb
apropos
- apropos
Synonyms
- nebenbei
- übrigens
Further reading
- “apropos” in Duden online
apropos From the web:
- what apropos means
- what apropos command do
- what apropos in linux
- what apropos of nothing mean
- apropos what does it mean
- apropos what language
- what does apropos of nothing mean
- what does apropos mean in french
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