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Dictionary Language resources

proprietary

Pronunciation: /prəˈprʌɪət(ə)ri/

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Definition of proprietary

adjective

1relating to an owner or ownership:the company has a proprietary right to the property
behaving as if one owned something or someone:he looked about him with a proprietary air

2(of a product) marketed under and protected by a registered trade name:proprietary brands of insecticide

Origin:

late Middle English (as a noun denoting a member of a religious order who held property): from late Latin proprietarius 'proprietor', from proprietas (see property)