different between proper vs sterling

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)

1. (heading) Suitable.
   1. Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable. [13th c.]
   2. 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.

2. (heading) Possessed, related.
   1. (grammar) Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are usually written with an initial capital letter. [14th c.]
   2. 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

   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.
   4. (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.

   5. (heraldry) Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures. [16th c.]
   6. (mathematics) Being strictly part of some other thing (not necessarily explicitly mentioned, but of definitional importance), and not being the thing itself. [20th c.]

   7. (mathematics, physics) Eigen-; designating a function or value which is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue. [20th c.]
3. (heading) Accurate, strictly applied.
   1. Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.) [14th c.]

   2. (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.

   3. (often postpositive) In the very strictest sense of the word. [14th c.]
   4. (now colloquial) Utter, complete. [15th 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)

1. (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?

2. (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

Noun

proper (plural propers)

1. (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)

1. near, close

   Synonym: pròxim

2. neighbouring
3. 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

1. cleanly
2. 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)

1. (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)

1. (somewhat informal, dated) in good condition: clean; neat; well-kept; developed

2. (colloquial, euphemistic) overweight; chubby

Declension

Further reading

• “proper” in Duden online

Old French

Adjective

proper m (oblique and nominative feminine singular proper)

1. (rare) Alternative form of propre

   Or a mai entendez Ki proper volunté amez, Set Pechez 70

English

Etymology

From Middle English sterling, sterlinge, sterlynge, starling, of uncertain origin. Possibly from sterling (“starling”) (the bird), which at one time was engraved on one quarter of the coin; or perhaps from Middle English sterre (“star”) + -ling (as in shilling), as some Norman coins presumably featured stars on them.

For the UK currency gloss, the term is a contraction of esterling, referring to eastern merchants from Baltic towns who established a bullion weight standard for transactions.(Taylor and Palmer, 1968)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?st??(?).l??/
• Rhymes: -??(r)l??

Noun

sterling (countable and uncountable, plural sterlings)

1. The currency of the United Kingdom; especially the pound.
2. Former British gold or silver coinage of a standard fineness: for gold 0.91666 and for silver 0.925.
   • S. M. Leake

     Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign.

3. Sterling silver, or articles made from this material.
4. A structure of pilings that protects the piers of a bridge; a starling.

Translations

Adjective

sterling (comparative more sterling, superlative most sterling)

1. (not comparable) of, or relating to British currency, or the former British coinage.
2. (not comparable) of, relating to, or made from sterling silver.
3. Of acknowledged worth or influence; high quality; authoritative.
4. Genuine; true; pure; of great value or excellence.
   • 2016 January 31, "Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon or Her Next Big Problem?," Vanity Fair (retrieved 21 January 2016):

     But Rodríguez says, “Neither the law nor the facts support Senator Grassley’s baseless allegations and extrapolated conclusions. It is disappointing that the senator and his staff continue to focus a politically motivated campaign on Ms. Abedin, who has been known her entire professional life for hard work, integrity, and her sterling reputation. It is people like Ms. Abedin whom we should all want in public service.”

Translations

References

• Taylor, Isaac; Palmer, Abram Smythe (1968). Words and places; or, Etymological illustrations of history, ethnology, and geography. University of Michigan. Detroit, Gale Research Co.

Anagrams

• Giltners, Tinglers, glistren, ringlets, tinglers, tringles