Category:Propriety

Pro*pri"e*ty, n.; pl. Proprieties. Etym: [f. propriété, l. Proprietas, fr. proprius one's own, proper. See property, proper.]

1. Individual right to hold property; ownership by personal title; Property. [obs.] "onles this propriety be exiled." Robynson (more's Utopia). So are the proprieties of a wife to be disposed of by her lord, and Yet all are for her provisions, it being a part of his need to Refresh and supply hers. Jer. Taylor.

2. That which is proper or peculiar; an inherent property or quality; Peculiarity. [obs.] Bacon. We find no mention hereof in ancient zoögraphers,. . . who seldom Forget proprieties of such a nature. Sir t. Browne.

3. The quality or state of being proper; suitableness to an Acknowledged or correct standard or rule; consonance with established Principles, rules, or customs; fitness; appropriateness; as, Propriety of behavior, language, manners, etc. "the rule of Propriety," locke.