Meanings
- uncountableThe direction which is to the right from an object's perspective, the direction 90 degrees clockwise from the front.
There is a slight twist of the torso to the proper right, and the head is turned a little further.
1981, Martin Robertson, “The great change : late archaic and early classical”, in A Shorter History of Greek Art, Cambridge University Press, published 1982, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 532 more examples
Sennit for Hats […] always join on the upper side, because the under side is the proper right side of the sennit.
1834, S. B. Luce, Aaron Ward, “Knotting, Splicing, Etc.”, in Text-book of Seamanship, revised and enlarged edition, New York: Van Nostrand Company, published 1891, archived from the original on 19 Jan 2021, page 59The key in the lock served to open the proper left-hand door, while the proper right door was secured by a hook and eye of forged iron […]
2006 April, Jean M Burks, “Quebec country furniture at the Shelburne Museum”, in Magazine Antiques, volume 169, number 4, page 124Synonyms: starboard
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe direction which is to the right from an object's perspective, the direction 90 degrees clockwise from the front.
Origin
- Latinproprius
- Englishproper right
proper (in the sense of "its own") + right; from Latin proprius.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
proper right. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/proper%20right
“proper right.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/proper%20right. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “proper right,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/proper%20right.
Source: proper right on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.