Etymograph

English

unproper

Unproper comes from Latin proprius ‘appropriate to oneself: (one's) proper,…’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *proprijos.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proprijos1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproprius1‘appropriate to oneself: (one's) proper, (one's) own (inalienably)’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400propre1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500propre1
  5. English1500–presentproper1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604unproper1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English unproper
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “There's Millions now aliue, That nightly lye in those…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proprijosWiktionary, English unproperreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpropriusWiktionary, English unproper‘appropriate to oneself: (one's) proper, (one's) own (inalienably)’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400propreWiktionary, English unproper
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500propreWiktionary, English unproper
  5. English1500–presentproperWiktionary, English unproper
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604unproperWiktionary, English unproper. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “There's Millions now aliue, That nightly lye in those…”

A compound of *pro- ‘pro-’ + *prijos

Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘toward, forward’

Proto-Italic *pro- ‘pro-’

Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’

Proto-Indo-European *priHós ‘pleased’

Proto-Italic *prijos

Linked words

through Latin proprius ‘appropriate to oneself: (one's) proper,…’

property, appropriation, improper, reproach, propriety, 7 more

through English proper

properly, 4 more

Today it means

adj Improper, not according with fact or reason; wrong, irregular.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unproper”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *proprijos / unproper

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