English
improper
Improper comes from Latin improprius ‘not proper’, and goes back to proprius.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproprius‘proper’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimproprius‘not proper’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impropre
- Englishearliest quotation 1608improper
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproprius‘proper’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimproprius‘not proper’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impropre
- Englishearliest quotation 1608improper
Earliest quotation: 1608, John Fletcher: “Not to be adorned with any art but such…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’
through Proto-Indo-European *priHós ‘dear’
through Proto-Italic *pro-
through Latin proprius ‘proper’
property, properly, appropriation, reproach, propriety, 8 more
Today it means
adj Unsuitable to needs or circumstances; inappropriate; inapt.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin proprius / improper