Proper vs Nice - What's the difference?
proper | nice | Synonyms |
(lb) Suitable.
#Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.
#:
#*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
#*:The proper study of mankind is man.
#*{{quote-magazine, date=2014-06-14, volume=411, issue=8891, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= #Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous.
#:
#*
#*:This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking.Indeed, all his features were in large mold, like the man himself, as though he had come from a day when skin garments made the proper garb of men.
(lb) Possessed, related.
#(lb) Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper words are usually written with an initial capital letter.
#Pertaining exclusively to a specific thing or person; particular.
#*, II.1.3:
#*:They have a proper saint almost for every peculiar infirmity: for poison, gouts, agues.
#*(Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
#*:those high and peculiar attributeswhich constitute our proper humanity
#(lb) Belonging to oneself or itself; own.
#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
#*:my proper son
#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
#*:Now learn the difference, at your proper cost, / Betwixt true valour and an empty boast.
#*, II.4.1.ii:
#*:every country, and more than that, every private place, hath his proper remedies growing in it, particular almost to the domineering and most frequent maladies of it.
#*1946 , (Bertrand Russell), (A History of Western Philosophy) , I.20:
#*:Each animal has its proper' pleasure, and the ' proper pleasure of man is connected with reason.
#(lb) Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures.
#
(lb) Accurate, strictly applied.
#Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.)
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#*1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , (w) VII:
#*:The same tyme was Moses borne, and was a propper childe in the sight of God, which was norisshed up in his fathers housse thre monethes.
#In the very strictest sense of the word (now often as postmodifier).
#*, Episode 16:
#*:Though unusual in the Dublin area he knew that it was not by any means unknown for desperadoes who had next to nothing to live on to be abroad waylaying and generally terrorising peaceable pedestrians by placing a pistol at their head in some secluded spot outside the city proper .
#
#:
(Scotland) properly; thoroughly; completely
* 1964 , Saint Andrew Society (Glasgow, Scotland), The Scots magazine: Volume 82
(nonstandard, slang) properly
* 2012 , (Soufside), Hello (song)
(obsolete) Silly, ignorant; foolish.
*, II.2:
* 1999 , Joyce Crick, translating (Sigmund Freud), (The Interpretation of Dreams) , Oxford 2008, p.83:
(obsolete) Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict.
* 1818 , (Jane Austen), (Persuasion) :
Showing]] or [[require, requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle.
* 1914 : (Saki), :
* 1974 , (Lawrence Durrell), Monsieur , Faber & Faber 1992, p.131:
* 2006 , (Clive James), North Face of Soho , Picador 2007, p.242:
(obsolete) Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky.
* 1598 , (William Shakespeare), , IV.1:
* 1822 , T. Creevey, Reminiscences , 28 Jul.:
Respectable; virtuous.
Pleasant, satisfactory.
* 1998 , (Baha Men) -
* 2008 , Rachel Cooke, The Guardian , 20 Apr.:
Of a person: friendly, attractive.
With "and", having intensive effect: extremely.
* , chapter=8
, title= Used to signify a job well done.
Used to signify approval.
(transitive, computing, Unix) To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.
Proper is a synonym of nice.
As an adjective proper
is (lb) suitable .As an adverb proper
is (scotland) properly; thoroughly; completely.As a proper noun nice is
a city in southeast france on the coast of the mediterranean sea, capital of the department of alpes-maritimes.proper
English
(wikipedia proper)Alternative forms
* propre (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)It's a gas, passage=One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.}}
Synonyms
* correct, right, apt, prudent, sensible, fitting * appropriate, decent, good, polite, right, well-mannered * appropriate, just, honorable * comprehensive, royal, sweeping, intensive * (true) full, complete * complete, right (informal), total, utterAntonyms
* incorrect, wrong, bad, imprudent, insensible * inappropriate, indecent, bad, impolite, wrong, ill-mannered, unseemly * inappropriate, unjust, dishonorable * partial, incomplete, superficial, slapdash * (true) incompleteSee also
* proper adjective * proper fraction * proper nounAdverb
(-)- Don't you think you must have looked proper daft?
- When I meet a bad chick, know I gotta tell her hello
- talk real proper , but she straight up out the ghetto
Statistics
*nice
English
Alternative forms
* nyc (non-standard)Etymology 1
From (etyl) nice, nyce, nys, from (etyl) nice, niche, .Adjective
(er)- There is nothing he seemed to be more carefull of than of his honesty, and observe a kinde of decencie of his person, and orderly decorum in his habits, were it on foot or on horsebacke. He was exceeding nice in performing his word or promise.
- But if I dispense with the dreams of neurotics, my main material, I cannot be too nice in my dealings with the remainder.
- Good company requires only birth, education and manners, and with regard to education is not very nice . Birth and good manners are essential.
- "It's her own funeral, you know," said Sir Lulworth; "it's a nice point in etiquette how far one ought to show respect to one's own mortal remains."
- It would be a nice theological point to try and establish whether Ophis os Moslem or gnostic.
- Why it should have attained such longevity is a nice question.
- To set so rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre? It were not good.
- It has been a damned nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.
- When the party was nice , the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)
- "What's difficult is when you think someone is saying something nice about you, but you're not quite sure."
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.}}
Quotations
* 1710 , (Jonathan Swift), No. XIV *: I have strictly observed this rule, and my imagination this minute represents before me a certain great man famous for this talent, to the constant practice of which he owes his twenty years’ reputation of the most skilful head in England, for the management of nice affairs. * 1930 , , (The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case) *: Here's another nice mess you've gotten us into. * 1973 , Cockerel Chorus, Nice One, Cyril! *: Nice one, Cyril!Usage notes
Sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite or to connote excess.Synonyms
* charming, delightful, friendly, kind, lovely, pleasant, sweet * charming, delightful, lovely, pleasant * (having a pleasant taste or aroma) appetising/appetizing, delicious, moreish (informal), scrummy (slang), scrumptious (slang), tasty * (subtle) fine, subtleAntonyms
* horrible, horrid, nasty * horrible, horrid, nasty * (having a pleasant taste or aroma) awful, disgusting, foul, horrible, horrid, nasty, nauseating, putrid, rancid, rank, sickening, distasteful, gross, unsatisfactory * naughtyDerived terms
* nice and + adjective * nice and easy * nice guy * nice guys finish last * nicely * niceness * nice round number * nicety * sugar and spice and everything niceInterjection
(en-interj)!- Nice! I couldn't have done better.
- Is that your new car? Nice!
Etymology 2
Name of a Unix program used to invoke a script or program with a specified priority, with the implication that running at a lower priority is "nice" (kind, etc.) because it leaves more resources for others.Verb
(nic)Derived terms
* reniceExternal links
* * * *Niceat NiceDefinition.com