propriety

C2+ Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /prəˈpraɪɪti/ UK /prəˈpraɪəti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
conformity to accepted standards of behaviour or morals

She questioned the propriety of accepting such a gift.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · conformity to accepted... decorum decency seemliness correctness etiquette politeness modesty respectability

Opposites

impropriety indecency rudenessimmodesty

Word family

Related forms proper property proprietor appropriate

Simplified etymology

Propriety, recorded in late Middle English, comes from Latin proprietas “ownership,” an abstract noun formed from proprius “one’s own, special, particular.” It shares this origin with property, proprietary, and proprietor.

Etymology

From Old French propriete ('individuality, peculiarity, property'), from Latin proprietas ('a peculiarity, ownership'), from proprius ('one's own').

proprietas Latin proprius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# propriety

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /prəˈpraɪɪti/
**IPA (UK):** /prəˈpraɪəti/

## Meanings
1. conformity to accepted standards of behaviour or morals

## Examples
- She questioned the propriety of accepting such a gift.

## Synonyms
- decorum
- decency
- seemliness
- correctness
- etiquette
- politeness
- modesty
- respectability

## Antonyms
- impropriety
- indecency
- rudeness
- immodesty

## Related Forms
- proper
- property
- proprietor
- appropriate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: proprietas
- Root: proprius

## Etymology
From Old French propriete ('individuality, peculiarity, property'), from Latin proprietas ('a peculiarity, ownership'), from proprius ('one's own').

## AI Etymology
Propriety is from Old French propriete ('individuality, peculiarity, property'), from Latin proprietas ('a peculiarity, ownership'), from proprius ('one's own'). In present-day use, it means conformity to accepted standards of behaviour or morals. Related vocabulary includes proper, property, proprietor, and appropriate.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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