DictionaryproperSpecific name
adjective

proper

Naming a particular person, place, or thing.

The teacher identifies Maya as a proper name.

Etymology

The Latin source means one's own or particular. A proper name belongs to a particular entity, distinguishing it from a general category-name.

More examples

  • The sentence begins with a proper noun.
  • She capitalized the proper names in the list.
  • Paris is a proper name for a particular city.

Forms

proper

Similar words

common
In grammar, names a class rather than a particular entity.