improprius

Forms

improprius (feminine impropria, neuter improprium, adverb impropriē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin in-² + proprius (“one's own, proper”).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder uses it of an unsuitable name.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It was mostly a term of grammar and rhetoric, for words used improperly or incorrectly:^[2] Quintilian speaks of an improper name and of improper words, and says that nothing improper can be ornate.^[5] The neuter improprium was used as a noun, and the adverb impropriē meant improperly.^[5] English improper (mid-15th century) comes from Old French impropre and directly from the Latin word.^[4]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder applies it to a name.^[5][6]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of improperly used words.^[5][6]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it as improper.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (grammar) Of words: used improperly, incorrect.^[2]
2. Not befitting a thing, unsuitable, improper.^[5][1]

Word family

• improprietās

Related words

• English improper

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de