propeller-well 
propeller-well (pro-pcl'er-wel). w. A vertical 
aperture over the screw in the stern of a ship 
\\liicli Imsu hoisting propeller. When Itlsdeslred 
to proceed under Ball, the screw, a two-bladed one, U 
hoisted off the end of the shaft Into the propeller-well, so 
that It may not retard the ship by dragging In the water. 
propeller-wheel (pr$-pel'eishw*l), . A ma- 
rine propeller or screw ; a screw propeller, 
propelment (pro-pel'ment), . [< propel + 
-meat.] 1. The act of propelling. 2. In clock- 
work, electrical recording-instruments, calcu- 
lating-machines, etc., the propelling mecha- 
nism; more particularly, an escapement mecha- 
nism in which the primary propulsive power is 
applied to the escapement, and the pallets of 
the escapement drive the scape-wheel, instead 
of the latter operating the escapement, as in 
ordinary clocks. 
propendt (pro-pend'), r. '. [= OF. porpendre, 
pourpendre, <. L. propendere, hang forward or 
down, be inclined or disposed, < pro, forward, 
+ pendere, hang: see pendent.] To lean for- 
ward ; incline ; be propense or disposed in favor 
of anything. 
Ne'ertheless, 
My spritely brethren, I propend to you 
In resolution to keep Helen still. 
Shak., T. and C., II. 2. 190. 
His eyes are like a balance, apt to propend each way. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 454. 
propendencyt (pro-pen'den-si), n. [<proj>en- 
iten(t) + -ey.] 1. A leaning toward anything; 
inclination; tendency of desire to anything. 
2. Attentive deliberation. [Bare.] 
An act above the animal actings, which are transient, 
and admit not of that attention and propendency of ac- 
tions. Sir M. Hale. 
propendent (pro-pen'dent), a. [< L. prnpcn- 
den(t-)s, ppr. o'f propendere, hang forward or 
down: see propend.} If. Inclining forward or 
toward anything. South. (Imp. Dirt.) 2. In 
hot., hanging forward and downward. Paxton. 
propense (pro-pens'), a. [< L. propensity, pp. of 
propendere, hang forward or down, be inclined: 
see propend.'] Leaning toward anything, in a 
moral sense; inclined; disposed, whether to 
good or evil ; prone. 
God is more propense to rewards than to punishments. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (cd. 1835X II. 40. 
Our agents shall discern the mind of the parliament to- 
wards us, which if it be propense and favorable, there may 
be a flt season to procure . . . countenance of our pro- 
ceedings. Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. S45. 
propensely (pro-pens'li), ndr. In a propense 
manner; with natural tendency. 
Others . . . looked upon it on the contrary, as a real 
and substantial oath propensely formed against Yorick. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, Iv. 27. 
propenseness (pro-pens'nes), n. The state of 
being propense ; natural tendency. 
A prupeiueneM to diseases In the body. 
Donne, Devotions, p. 573. 
propension (pro-pen'shon), w. [< F. propensity 
= Sp. propension = Pg. propem&H = It. propoi- 
none, < L. propensio(n-), inclination, propen- 
sity, < propendere, pp. propensus, hang forward 
or down: see propend.] 1. The state of being 
propense; propensity. 
1 ever had a greater zeal to sadness, 
A natural propension. 
Middleton, Mamnger, and Rowley, Old Law, iv. 2. 
Such by-words as reaction and progress are but the po- 
litical slang which each side uses to express their aver- 
sions and their propensions. 
StiMt, Medieval and Modern lllst, p. 18. 
2. The state or condition of tending to move 
in a certain direction. 
In natural motions this impetuosity continually In- 
creases, by the continued action of the cause namely, 
the propention of going to the place assigned it by nature. 
Whevxll. 
propensitudet (pro -pen 'si -tud), n. [< pro- 
pense + -itude, as in attitiule, etc.] Propensity. 
[Bare.] 
T' abandon natural! propenritudc*. 
Manton, What you Will, U. 1. 
propensity (pro-pen'si-ti), w. [= It. propensi- 
tti ; IM propniHt + -it;/.] A bent of mind, nat- 
ural or acquired ; inclination ; natural tenden- 
cy : disposition to anything good or evil, par- 
ticularly to evil : as, a propensity to gamble. 
He that learns It (angling) must not onely bring an en- 
uniting, searching, and discerning wit, but he must bring 
also that patience you talk of, and a love and pmptiuniit 
to the art lUelf. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler (rep. of 1*53), p. 11. 
Let there be but propensity and bent of will to religion 
South. 
= Syn. Hint, Inclination, etc. See 6ml 1. 
propensivet (pro-pen'siv), a. [< propense + 
-<".] Inclined; disposed; favorable. 
4776 
This Edward the Thlrde, of hli propensity mlnde to- 
wardes them, united to Yarmouth Kirtleyroad, from it 
seaven mile vacant. 
Xashr, Lenten Htuffe (llarl. Misc., VL 152). (Daeiet.) 
propenyl (prop'e-nil), n. [<. prop(ioute) + -en- 
+ -I//.] Same as glyceryl. 
propeptone (pro-pep 'ton), n. [< pro- + pep- 
tout.'] One of the first products of peptic and 
tryptic digestion: same as heniialbumose. 
propeptonuria (pro-pep-to-nu'ri-a), . [NL., 
< iiropeptone + Or. avpor, urine.] The pres- 
ence of propeptone in the urine, 
proper (prop'er), a. and n. [< ME. propre, < 
OF. propre, F. propre = Sp. Pg. It. proprio, < Ij. 
proprius, special, proper, one's own, personal, 
also lasting: no certain connections. From 
L. propriiw are also ult. propriety, property, pro- 
priate, appropriate, expropriate, etc.] I. a. 1. 
Special; peculiar; belonging to a species or 
individual and to nothing else ; springing from 
the peculiar nature of a given species or indi- 
vidual ; particularly suited to or befitting one's 
nature; natural; original. 
Vexed 1 am 
Of late with passions of some difference. 
Conceptions only proper to myself, 
Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviours. 
Shot., J. 0., i. 2. 41. 
They have a proper saint almost for every peculiar in- 
firmity. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 274. 
But first he casts to change his proper shape, 
Which else might work him danger or delay. 
Milton, P. L., ill. 634. 
He knew how to adapt every plant to ite proper soil. 
Adaisvn, Hilpali and Shaluin. 
A neatness that seemed less the result of care and plan 
than a something as proper to the man as whiteness to the 
lily. Lowell, Cambridge Thirty Years Ago 
2. Belonging to one ; one's own. 
For if they shnlde abyde longc with vs they shuld vndo 
VB all and etc vs lyke as they do their owne propre folke. 
Jt. Eden, tr. of Amerigo Vespucci (First Books on Ameri- 
[ca, ed. Arber, p. xxxiii.). 
Here at my house and at my proper cost 
Shak., T. N., v. 1. 327. 
The waiter's hands that reach 
To each his perfect pint of stout, 
His proper chop to each. 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. 
3. Fit; suitable; appropriate. 
Tis proper I obey him, but not now. 
Shale., Othello, v. 2. 196. 
A middle estate is most jiroper to the office of teaching. 
Milton, Apology for HmectymnuuB. 
To sit with her in sight was happiness, and the proper 
happiness for early morning serene, incomplete, but 
progressive. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xxxvi. 
t'nhappily, you arc In a situation In which it is proper 
for you to do what it would be improper in me to endure. 
Macaulay, In Trevelyan, I. 185. 
The proper function of authority is to enlarge, not to 
contract, our horizon. Gladstone, Might of Right, p. 19ti. 
4. According to recognized usage; correct; 
just: as, & prujx-r word; a proper expression. 
Those parts of nature into which the chaos was divided 
they signified l>y dark nnmes which we have expressed In 
their plain and proper terms. 
T. Burnet, Theory of the Earth. 
No dawn no dusk no proper time of day ! 
Hood, November. 
5. Rightly so called, named, or described; taken 
in a strict sense : in this sense usually follow- 
ing the noun: as, the apes proper belong to the 
Old World ; no shell-fish are fishes proper. 
This elevation descended . . . into what might be called 
the garden proper. Scott, Waverley, Ix. 
It is safe to assert that no Government proper ever had 
a provision in its organic law for Its own termination. 
Lincoln, In Raymond, p. 114. 
6. Decent; correct in behavior; respectable; 
such as should be : as, proper conduct. 
That Is an advertisement to a proper maid In Florence, 
one Diana, Shak., All's Well, tv. 3. 240. 
Under the most exciting circumstances, Tltia was such 
an exceedingly proper child. 
tin. D. M. Craik, Christian's Mistake, II. 
7. Well-formed; good-looking; personable; 
handsome; also, physically strong or active. 
[Now only prov. Eng.] 
There is not among us al one 
Hint dare medle with that potter, man for man. 
I felt his handes not long agone, . . . 
He Is as propre a man as ever you medic withal. 
I'laye of Kobyn llode (Child's Ballads, V. 425), 
I am a proper fellow of m\ hands. 
Shall., 2 Hen. IV., II. 2. 72. 
A comely, pnper womn, though not handsome. 
Pepyt, Diary, I. 96. 
And still my delight ls In proper young men. 
Burnt, Jolly Beggars. 
8. In her., having its natural color or colors: 
said of any object used as a bearing: thus, a 
properistoma 
coil of rope proper is represented brown, and 
the spiral lines of the cordage are indicated. 
9. In liturgies, used only on a particular day or 
festival, or during a particular octave or sea- 
son: as, the proper iutroit; a proper preface; 
jn-iij>er psalms. 10. Fine; pretty: said ironi- 
cally of what is absurd or objectionable. 
Talk with a man out at a window ! a proper saying. 
Shalt., Much Ado, iv. 1. 312. 
Expect, They two help him to a wife. 
Mirth. Ay, she Is a proper piece that such creatures can 
broke for. /;. Jonson, Staple of News, L 2. 
11. Becoming; deserved. Salliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] Definition proper, a definition bvmeansoftbe 
genus and specific difference. Proper adjunct, an ad- 
junct which belongs to the whole of a species, and always, 
and to nothing else. Proper chant, u" <>ld name for the 
key of C major. Stainerana Batrett. Proper cognitiont. 
See cognition. Proper conversion, in loyic. Sf e cornier- 
tton, 2. Proper difference, an Inseparable accident dis- 
tinguishing two things. Proper exciple. See exciple. 
Proper feud, in lav, an original and genuine feud held 
by pure military service. Proper fraction. See /rot- 
ton, 4. Proper Jurisdiction. See yi/riKdWinii. Prop- 
er motion, iii astron. Sec mniiiut.- Proper noun or 
name, a name given to an individual member of a class, 
for distinction from other members of the same class, as 
Shakspere, Cxsar, London, April, Tvesday, Tray, Ediptt, 
etc. : opposed to cotnmon or appellative noun. Proper 
Object, an object that Is object to but one subject Prop- 
er preface, see preface. Proper quantity. Same as 
extensive quantity (which see, under extensive). Proper 
syllogism, the Kamist name for a syllogism having an in- 
dividual middle : as, Houbes was a genius; Hobbes showed 
no early bent in the direction in which he afterward dis- 
tinguished himself; hence, It is possible for a man of 
genius to show no early bent In the direction in which he 
will afterward distinguish himself. =Syn. 1. Particular, 
individual, specific. 3 and 4. Fitting, befitting, meet, 
seemly, becoming, legitimate. 
II. n. 1. That which is set apart to special or 
individual use. [Rare.] specifically, In liiurgia, a 
, 
special office or special parts of an office appointed for a 
particular day or time : as, the proper of the day ; the 
proper of Whitsunday. 
particular day or time : as, the proper > 
proper of Whitsunday. 
SJf. A property in the logical sense. 
Propers either flow Immediately from the essence of the 
subject ... or by the mediation of gome other property. 
Buraersdicius, tr. by a Gentleman. 
In proper', Individually ; privately. 
The princes found they could not have that in proper 
which God made to be common. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, ill. 3. 
Proper Of saints, the variable parts of an office appointed 
for use on the festival of an individual saint Compare 
Common o.f the saints, under ctminon. Proper of the 
mass, the proper of the season for the mass. Proper of 
the season, in liturgies, the variable parts of an office 
appointed for use on a Sunday or other day (not cele- 
brated as a saint's day), at a certain festival, etc., or dur- 
ing a certain octave or season. 
proper (proper), adv. [< iiropcr, a.] Properly ; 
very; exceedingly. [Vulgar.] 
" Isn't It lovely, Mrs. Flint?" " Proper pretty," replied 
Celyndy. Jane O. Austen, The Desmond Hundred, vl. 
propert (prop'er), r. t. [< OF. proprier, < L. 
propriarc, take as one's own, appropriate, < 
proprius, one's own: see proper, a.] 1. To 
appropriate. Palsgrarc. (Halliwell.) 2. To 
make proper; adorn. Hallitrell. 
properatet (prop'e-rat), v. i. [< L. properatnx, 
pp. of properare, hasten, quicken, < propertitt, 
quick, speedy, < pro, forward, forth, + y par-, 
make.] To hasten. 
And, as last helps, hurle them down on their pates, 
Awhile to keep off death, which proprrates. 
Vicars, tr. of Virgil. (Aorej.) 
properationt (prop-e-ra'shon), n. [< L. prope- 
ratio(n-), quickness, a hastening, < properare, 
pp. properatus, hasten : sec projterate.} The act 
of properating or hastening; haste; speed. 
There is great preparation of this banquet, propention 
to it, participation of it; all is carried with joy and jouls- 
ance. Jlcv. T. Adams, Works, I. 216. 
properispome (pro-per'i-Kpom), n. and a. [< 
'KIj.prt>perispomenon,q.v.'] I. n. In Gr.gram., 
a word which has the circumflex accent on the 
penultimate. 
II. . In(fr.</n/i.,havingoreharacterizedby 
the circumflex accent on the penultimate. 
properispome (prfl-per'i-ipfaj), r. t.\ pret. and 
pp. )iri>iicriypomed, ppr. pruprrixfinming. [< pro- 
t n i-i*i>oni<; n.] Iii dr. (/mm., to write or pro- 
nounce with the circumflex accent on the pe- 
nultimate. 
properispomenon (pro-per-i-spom'e-non), n. 
| NI,..< <ir. -i>:,-i fiin-u/inxn, a word with the cir- 
cumflex accent on the penult, unit, of -ixiTri/it- 
tnruficvof, ppr. of ir/mire/Mmrav, drnw around be- 
fore^ irpo, before, + irrpiairai', draw around, strip 
IT: sec ft i'i*inut inn'. ] Same us j>i'"i>i n> 
properistoma (pr6-p.--ri-.'to-iniii, . : i>I. /<- 
prrixtioiitilti (pro-pcr-i-sto'nm-tii). [XI.,., < L. 
pro, before, T NL. jH-Hstunin : see />< ri.*ti>nie.] 
