Wednesday, February 26, 2014

propriety, proprietary

Propriety or propriety means adherence to a code of correct conduct, good behavior or manners--
"But with propriety, society will say "Marie"..."
Many people think that strapless gowns in church are an offense to propriety.
Propriety may also mean justice or right thinking--
For the sake of propriety, we ought to make sure that he has competent counsel at trial.

Proprietary or proprietary describes something having to do with ownership or legal rights to property--
The firm has been in the mail order business for decades, and has a proprietary interest in the new web site.
He has a proprietary interest in the business, and spends a lot of his time thinking about ways to improve it.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"A man with a proprietary interest in the firm should have a sense of propriety; his brother shouldn't be on the payroll."

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